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“oh, RALPH, where DID YOU GET HIM? WHOSE IS HE? WHAT 

HURT HIM ?” 




CAPTAIN POLLY 

OF ANNAPOLIS 


BY 

GABRIELLE E. JACKSON 

AUTHOR OF 

••ADVENTURES OF TOMMY POSTOFFICE ** 



NEW YORK 

E. R DUTTON AND COMPANY 

31 WEST TWENTY-THIRD STREET 



( 


Copyright, 1910 

BY 

E. P. DUTTON AND COMPANY 


©CI.A271860 


V/. V 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

I. — Which Introduces Her . 

II. — How She Got Her Name 

III. — In the Enemy’s Country 

IV. — Capitulation .... 

V. — Orders from the Captain 

VI. — In Honor of the Colors 
VII. — Laying Plans .... 

VIII. — When October Came 

IX. — An Honor Declined 

X. — The Mu Phi Psi’s Rival 

XI. — The Mu Phi Psi’s Meeting . 

XII. — Our Flag and School . 

XIII. — A Message from over the Sea 

XIV. — At Christmas-Tide . 

iii 


1 

14 

28 

40 

54 

68 

84 

103 

118 

132 

148 

165 

181 

201 


iv Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XV. — C APT Am Polly to the Rescue . 218 

XVI. — Off for Hampton Roads . . 234 

XVII. — Welcome Home ! . . . . 248 

XVHI. — The Greatest Day of All . . 262 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

“Oh, Ralph, Where did You Get Him? 
Whose Is He? What Hurt Him? 

Frontispiece 


Seated Himself upon the Flat Rock beside 

Her . . . . . 

From that Hour Ralph and Polly Were 
Custodians of the Flag 

Polly Stepped from behind the Palms 

She was about to Turn and Creep softly 

BACK 

“Brother Snap ! Dear, Dear Brother 
Snap I ” 


10 '^ 

86 / 
216 >/ 

228 / 

266 '^ 


V 



CAPTAIN POLLY OF 
ANNAPOLIS 



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CAPTAIN POLLY 

OF ANNAPOLIS 


CHAPTER I 

.WHICH INTRODUCES HER 

WARM June morning with fleecy “white 
sheep ” gamboling across a blue, blue sky, a 
soft wind, laden with the perfume of roses 
and newly mown grass; the whole world a 
glorious intoxicating green, — the shade of 
green which makes one wild to bury one’s 
self in it; to get close to Mother Earth and 
“ hear life murmur and see it glisten,” when 
we know everything is “climbing to a soul in 
grass and flowers,” and every fibre of our 
being is responding. 

On a quiet, hillside road in the pretty 
town of Montgentian, with massive oaks, 
chestnuts, hickories, and innumerable other 
forest trees bordering it, and arching their 
mighty boughs overhead, a small figure sat 
perched upon a large, flat rock, her elbows 


£ Captain Pollx 

propped upon her knees, her chin resting 
in her cupped hands, her deep gray eyes, 
shaded by long, almost black lashes looking, 
looking, looking down the road, which ran 
straight from her until the perspective 
seemed to draw it to a sharp point. They 
were strange eyes, set rather wide apart, 
large, expressive, and of such a peculiar 
shade of gray as to seem almost a blue. Her 
friends often teased her by insisting that 
nature had marked her for a vivandiere and 
intended her to be a soldier lassie; her eyes 
were so like the cadet blue of the^JJ&st 
Point uniforms. 

Until recently the owner of those eyes had 
been rather taken with that idea, but the 
previous winter had radically altered her 
view-point. But of that a little later. 
Had it not been for that change of attitude 
she would not at the present moment be 
seated on her flat rock, watching the road 
so intently while the sunlight Altered 
through the green foliage overhead and 
rested caressingly upon her glorious hair 
and exquisite skin. If the skin, and es- 
pecially the retrousse nose, boasted a few 
freckles which exactly matched the copper- 
tinted hair, nobody cared a straw ; they 
emphasized the skin’s beauty, for it was 


WHicH Introdxices Her 3 

beautiful. The mouth, however, was the 
truest index to her character. A well-known 
writer has asserted that, ‘‘ God Almighty 
makes all the other features, but a man 
makes his own mouth,” and this assertion 
applies equally well to woman-kind. This 
mouth was as faultless in outline as a mouth 
well could be. Neither large nor small, the 
upper lip a dainty Cupid’s bow, the under 
one its perfect mate, curved, rounded, soft, 
sensitive, yet both taken together were full 
of strong lines. It was the sort of mouth 
one delights in watching for it changed with 
every mood; indicated every thought; re- 
flected each emotion. 

No sound save the whispering of the 
leaves broke the silence of the woodland 
road, with its charming vista straight down 
the hillside to a lake at its foot; a lake now 
so calm that it reflected all the world round 
about it in the bluest of crystal mirrors, 
albeit it could grow wild and stormy enough 
upon occasion. With all its beauty it was 
considered a treacherous lake, though it 
rivalled in color the masses of gentians which 
later in the season would carpet woodland 
and uplands with the richest of velvet car- 
pets, and which had given Montgentian 
its pretty name. 


4 


Captain Polly 


At the foot of the hill lay the town, a 
prosperous one of probably fifteen thousand 
inhabitants, and the suburb of a great city 
about twenty miles distant. Upon a clear 
day the city was distinctively discernible 
from the summit of the mountain which 
towered above this hill road. 

Presently far down the road another fig- 
ure appeared in view. The keen gray eyes 
instantly lighted up and were intently fo- 
cussed upon the person approaching. The 
hands fell from the chin and rested upon 
the warm rock, as a prop to the figure now 
bending forward to get a better view. The 
new arrival did not seem to be a very 
remarkable individual as he drew near; in- 
deed he was a mere stripling of a boy, prob- 
ably twelve or fourteen years of age, though 
he looked even younger, and was thin and 
undeveloped. 'But there was a degree of 
resolution in the little chap out of all pro- 
portion to his slight build, so in contrast to 
the girl seated upon the rock, who was 
youthful vigor and health incarnate. 

The boy was dark, or rather his hair and 
eyes were, — a deep chestnut brown, — al- 
though his skin was pale. He came pant- 
ing up the road bearing in his arms a 
good-sized dog. Not a beautiful creature in 


WHicK Introduces Her 


5 


any sense of the word, and at present far from 
attractive, for he was as muddy as a mud 
turtle, and bore marks of recent disaster, 
for one foot was bound up with the boy’s 
far-from-clean handkerchief. 

Evidently he had come to grief and been 
rescued by his panting champion. The girl 
held out her arms and the next instant had 
the dog in her lap, mud and all, as she cried: 

“ Oh, Ralph, where did you get him? 
Whose is he? What hurt him? ” 

“ Down in the village ; I don’t know whose 
he is; he got hit by an auto and his foot is 
squashed,” panted the boy dropping down 
upon the broad stone beside the girl. “Gee! 
but he was heavy though. I lugged him 
all the way up. Part of the time he just 
yelled like anything, though he ’s only cried 
and whimpered a little during the last few 
minutes.” 

“ Is his leg broken? ” 

“Don’t think so; just smashed and hurts 
like the dickens. I would n’t a-brought him 
here except that I had to come up with this, 
and thought maybe it was important; you 
never can tell about ’em, you know. Some- 
times I ’ve pretty near run my gizzard out 
’cause I Ve thought somebody was dead or 
dyin’, and when I ’ve reached the place it 


6 


Captain Polly 


was just ‘ Congratulations on your birth- 
day, Tommy,’ or ‘ Baby ’s got a new tooth, 
Goosey.’ Ah, I ’d like to just smash such 
people. Then again when I ’ve taken my 
time and gone slow and easy it would be 
a death message, or some awful thing, and 
I ’d want to kick myself all over the place 
for not hurrying. But I ’ve got to go on 
up to your house with this, Hope it ain’t 
any bad news this time ; I don’t like to take 
bad news up there,” and removing his cap 
the boy took from it an envelope. 

The girl took it and eyed it as though the 
superscription could reveal the name of the 
sender. Evidently it did, for the gray eyes 
began to twinkle and the flexible lips to 
pucker whimsically. 

Handing it back she said: “ Hike along 
up, Ralph, I ’ve been watching for you. It 
is n’t bad news this time, I know. The mes- 
sage is for Constance.” 

‘‘ What ’ll I do with him, though? ” asked 
Ralph, nodding toward the dog. “ Oh, 
he ’s spoiled your dress. What did I ever 
let you take him for? ” said the boy 
contritely. 

“ You did n’t let me; I just did it. Who 
cares for the mud? Mud will wash off. 
Lie still — what ’s his name? ” 


WHicH Introdvices Her 7 

“ Rhody. Funny one, ain’t it ; it ’s on his 
collar, see? Will you keep him till I get 
back?” 

“ Maybe I ’ll keep him all the time ; he ’s 
a good breed, don’t you see that? Now go 
on with that message, and I ’ll see how this 
leg is. Lie still, Rhody, lie still, there ’s a 
dear. I won’t hurt you any more than I 
can help, poor old fellow. Oh, what a 
shame ! ” as the handkerchief when removed 
revealed a terribly swollen paw. The dog, 
a thoroughbred Boston brindle, looked up 
at her with his queer, wide-set, pop-eyes, 
whined with pain, and then, by way of 
apology, made wild laps at her face and 
hands with his velvety tongue. The leg had 
been cruelly crushed, but the steady, light 
hand examining it could not discover any 
broken bones. It had evidently been a nar- 
row escape, however, for the poor little vic- 
tim of the speeding automobile must have 
had a hard knock, and a rough tumble 
heels-over-head through the mud. The girl 
smoothed, stroked, and crooned over her pa- 
tient, and presently had him snuggled close 
in her arms, the injured foot held in her 
hand, which seemed to afford the dog a good 
deal of comfort, for he sighed now and 
again, occasionally punctuating his sighs 


8 


Captain Polly 


with a low whine when an extra sharp 
twinge shot through his leg. She had prob- 
ably been sitting thus about fifteen minutes, 
too absorbed in her charge to take note of 
anything else, when she was aroused from 
her self-imposed duty by a high, clear 
whistle as some one drew near. As she 
glanced quickly up a swift transformation 
flashed across her strangely expressive face. 
She did not rise, but holding her charge, 
eyed the approaching stranger with a glance 
which might have pierced through him. He 
returned the look with interest, for two of 
the man’s dominating characteristics were 
an admiration for a beautiful girl or woman, 
and his intense love of children. Here he 
found the object of both, for Polly How- 
land was both. The dog turned his head 
toward the whistler and wagged his stub 
tail. The effect of that wag upon the girl 
holding him was instantaneous; the lines of 
the mobile mouth softened perceptibly. The 
man was still at some distance, and the 
merry whistle continued as uninterruptedly 
as though his splendid dark eyes had never 
rested upon her, while in fact, they had 
not for a moment been withdrawn from 
her face, and now held a light of intense 
admiration. 


WHicK Introdxjices Her 9 

The whistle, an old-time melody, familiar 
to many generations, filled the woodland 
with its high, clear, rollicking notes, as the 
man swung along to its rhythm. The wood 
road was rather steep, but it seemed to have 
no eflFect upon his splendid strength and 
endurance ;^the^ superbly set-up figure, with 
its perfect poise, its faultless play of mus- 
cles, bore down upon the rock as easily as 
though the road were the smoothest of fioors. 
Presently the whistle changed to a song, and 
the words of the old melody, full of almost 
meaningless nonsense, fell upon Polly’s ears, 
the refrain being, 

“ Sing-song Polly.” 

Still no change upon that same Polly’s 
part. 

An amused twinkle filled the man’s eyes. 
Within half a dozen feet of her he halted, 
came to attention, and saluted in a manner 
which secretly thrilled her soul. Then drop- 
ping his martial air, he raised his hat and 
bowed in the most approved manner of a 
well-bred citizen. That bow brought a 
second glow, although Polly would have 
died rather than let him suspect it. 

Things were progressing most favorably 


10 


Captain Polly 


for the new arrival could he but have guessed 
it. As it was, he felt puzzled, and he had 
considerable reason to. A man does not 
undertake the errand upon which this man 
was bound without more or less perturbation 
of soul, however great his self-assurance. 

“Miss Howland?” he questioned. 

“ No,” was the imperturbable negative. 

“Miss Polly, then?” 

“ To a very few, — yes,” was the slightly 
disconcerting reply. 

The man suppressed a smile, although his 
lips twitched a little. The gray, inscrutable 
eyes were fully aware of the twitch. Then 
he changed his tactics, swiftly carrying 
the war into the enemy’s country by 
asking : 

“ Who ami?” 

“ You may be Mr. Hunter though I don’t 
see how you can be quite so soon. He is 
not expected until to-night, or to-morrow at 
twelve.” 

“ Nay, young lady, you mean eight bells.” 

The gray eyes shot a keen flash at 
him. 

“No, I ’m not Mr. Hunter,” continued 
the man, “ so who am I? ” 

“Mr. — Harry, perhaps,” hesitated his 
vis-a-vis. 



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"WHicH Introdiaces Her 


II 


‘‘ Clear out of your reckoning ! Compass 
has deviated; needs adjusting; I’m afraid 
I ’ve got to take it in hand,” replied the 
man, as he bent over, pushed aside her skirts 
and seated himself upon the flat rock beside 
her with all the self-assurance of a boon com- 
panion, giving his hat a toss upon the soft 
turf. Then looking closely at the dog he 
asked: “ What ails him? ” 

“ He got hit by an auto down in the vil- 
lage. I don’t know surely whether his leg 
is broken or not.” 

“We ’ll soon And that out,” was the de- 
cisive answer. “ Come here, old man,” and 
the dog was lifted gently from the girl’s 
lap to the man’s. Happily for the state of 
his immaculate, dark-blue cheviot trousers 
most of the little beast’s mud had been wiped 
off upon Polly’s gown. The man’s long, 
slender fingers examined the injured leg 
with as delicate a touch as a woman’s. There 
was something singularly tender in his face 
as he did so. Polly watched him with a 
critical scrutiny. 

“No bones broken here,” was his com- 
forting assurance. “ Poor little beggar, it 
hurts like — er — blazes, doesn’t it?” he 
asked as though the dog could answer if 
he would. The dog whined and licked the 


12 


Captain Polly 


man’s hands, but before he could question 
his four-legged patient further a serene 
voice remarked: 

“You were going to say his foot hurt 
like the devil, weren’t you? ” 

For one second the man looked at the 
refined little face upraised to his, a face 
which at the present moment bore a per- 
fectly angelic expression, and then throwing 
back his splendid head simply roared until 
the forest rang. 

Polly’s expression did not change, al- 
though any one knowing her well would 
have been aware of a curious little twitching 
at the corners of the lips. They would also 
have understood exactly what that twitching 
indicated. It is not to be inferred that 
Polly dwelt in an environment where such 
language was a matter of course. On the 
contrary, those who have hitherto read any- 
thing of Polly Howland will hardly need 
be told that her home life was almost ideal, 
and its atmosphere as sweet and pure as any 
girl’s could be. Neverthless, Polly was en- 
dowed with the average number of faculties 
and they were of an exceptionally keen 
order. She had lived in the world more than 
twelve years and was an extremely inde- 
pendent little mortal. 


WHicH Introduces Her 13 

When the man had laughed his laugh to 
the end, he put out his hand and said: 

“ Shake! You got a rise out of me that 
time for fair. Now let ’s get down to busi- 
ness. I don’t know your name, — at least 
I ’m not supposed to, according to conven- 
tions, and you, according to the same rules 
are not supposed to know mine, but what 
is it the old song says, ‘ If you know me, 
^ and I know you, then we ’ll both know one 
another.’ Let us get busy and prove it.” 


CHAPTER II 

HOW SHE GOT HER NAME 

“ Let me hold him; Constance says skirts 
are needed to make a decent lap, and al- 
though you ’re pretty big, I don’t think you 
can make half as good a one as mine,” was 
the convincing argument of Miss Polly 
Howland as she lifted her patient back upon 
her lap, at the same time glancing up at the 
person beside her. 

There was something in the man’s eyes 
which held her own; a longing, a yearning 
which was almost pathetic; the look which 
we sometimes see in the eyes of a homeless 
dog as he comes toward us, his question 
asked as plainly as articulate speech could 
ask it: “Have I any claim upon you? 
Will you claim me? I am so lonely, so 
forlorn, so in need of all you can give me.” 

There was a swift change in the gray eyes 
raised to his, and the mouth took tender 
curves as Polly said softly: 

“ I knew you the very minute I saw you, 

14 


How SHe Got Her Name 15 

although I did n’t see how it could be you 
so soon. Constance said she did n’t think 
you could possibly get here before six 
o’clock, but Ralph has just gone up to the 
house with a telegram. You sent it, did n’t 
you? ” 

The man nodded but did not speak. 
Somehow his heart was very full just at 
that moment. During the past two weeks 
he had pictured this meeting many times, 
but never had the picture been duplicated, 
and the reality was as different from the 
mental one as realities usually are from our 
dream pictures. 

“ Yes, I know, and I ’ve been trying to 
make up my mind what I must call you. 
I did n’t want to meet you with all the 
grown-ups, and the half-grown-ups, around; 
they ’re sort of queer things, and you ’re not 
like any one else I could meet. You ’re 
just going to be all or nothing, and that 
has got to be settled while we are alone. 
So I ’m glad you did get here ahead of time, 
and I happened to be on hand ” 

‘‘ On deck'* corrected her listener. 

“ Well on deck then. I had planned to 
see you first without having you see me, 
but it has happened a great deal better than 
I could have planned it after all. They are 


i6 Captain Polly 

not expecting you yet anyway. Connie 
is n’t home — ” here a shadow of disappoint- 
ment passed swiftly over the fine face, but 
before it could become fixed Polly added 
quickly: “Oh, she’s only gone down to 
the village to market and when she comes 
back she has got to come this way; there 
is n’t any other you see.” Sunlight broke 
over the man’s face. 

“ Yes, that ’s true. It will be fully half 
an hour before she comes back, and we can 
have all that time to get to know each other. 
We may as well begin right off, for I dare 
say we’ve got to know each other pretty 
well — Connie settled all that down there in 
Annapolis — and, well — I ’m rather glad she 
did, now I Ve seen you.” 

There was a quick intaking of breath upon 
the man’s part, and his arm stole out to 
encircle the little girl’s waist as he said 
softly: 

“ Polly, do you know what you are say- 
ing? Can you guess what your words mean 
to me, little girl?” 

“I think so. I’m only a little girl, I 
know, and some people seem to think those 
two words mean just ‘ little fool,’ but they 
don’t know how much thinking we do way 
down inside ourselves. I love Connie better 


How SHe Got Her Name 17 

than anybody in this world, excepting 
mother, of course, and she has talked to me 
a lot about you; told me how lonely you 
were sometimes, in spite of being so big and 
— and — splendid,’’ with a glance of keen ad- 
miration for the face bending lower and 
lower toward hers, as though the man were 
drinking in her words as a parched traveller 
eagerly quaffs refreshingly clear water. 
“ And I don’t want you to be lonely any 
more than Connie does, only I did want to 
see you first all by myself.” 

“ And now that you have seen me, dear, 
can you give me the place in your heart and 
home I have come all this long way to claim? 
I want them very much, little girl.” 

The man’s voice had grown very tender, 
and his eyes strangely soft as he asked these 
questions. Something in the tone must have 
moved the dog to a responsive mood, for 
with a low whine, he hunched himself to-, 
ward him, and rested his head upon his 
knee. 

The man smiled and said: 

“ Rhody vouches for me. Will you ac- 
cept his guarantee and tell me the name I 
am to bear in future? I have already de- 
cided upon mine for you.” 

The world all about them was very, very 


i8 Captain Polly 

still and beautiful just at that hour; — the 
hushed one bordering upon high noon, when 
Nature seems taking her siesta. The leaves 
overhead rustled softly; the sunlight and 
shadow lay in intoxicating patches upon 
foliage and turf; not far off a hermit-thrush 
voiced his heavenly notes. There was a 
strange emotion stirring in Polly How- 
land’s breast. All her little world had been 
changed within the past six months and she 
had been trying hard to adjust herself to 
the new order of things; a harder process 
than those around her suspected. Her 
elder sister had been away from her during 
those six months for the first time in all 
their lives. During that interval, also, 
Polly had been desperately ill and Constance 
had returned to nurse her, but upon her re- 
covery had gone back to Annapolis where 
a strong tie was forming to bind her. Polly 
felt instinctively that “ Old times were 
changed: old manners gone,” and that Con- 
stance could never quite fill her life as she 
had formerly filled it; that another must 
now be admitted to the home circle; a circle 
into which no man had stepped since her 
father’s death when Polly was a very little 
girl, and Polly was not quite sure how she 
would regard the invasion, or if it would 


How SHe Got Her Name 19 

assume the form of an invasion or an addi- 
tion. It is hard to arrive at a decision re- 
garding any human being without having 
seen him, and up to the present moment 
Polly’s convictions had necessarily been 
purely theoretical. Now, however, here she 
had the sentient being before her upon 
whom she was to pass judgment. All this 
had rushed through her active brain much 
quicker than it has taken to put it on paper. 

Then Polly the intuitive, Polly the posi- 
tive, Polly the impulsive came to the front 
splendidly. 

Turning her eyes to those still regarding 
her so longingly she did the thing most like 
Polly to do. 

Raising her arms she clasped them about 
the man’s neck, and drawing his head toward 
her, kissed him lovingly and tenderly, then 
nestling in his close circling arms she said 
very softly: 

""Brother Snap.” 

There are certain natures to whom affec- 
tion and the manifestations of it are as es- 
sential as air to life itself, and without this 
manifestation they as surely fail to attain 
to a perfect moral and mental development, 
as their bodies would fail if deprived of 
God’s fresh air and sunshine. The man 


CO Captain Polly 

holding Polly Howland in an embrace which 
was almost painful in its intensity, although 
she would have let him crush every bone in 
her willowy little body before flinching, had 
such a nature. From boyhood he had led 
a lonely life at first one boarding-school then 
another, until at last he entered the United 
States Naval Academy at Annapolis at 
eighteen, from which he had graduated ten 
days prior to this meeting with Polly. 
Constance, Polly’s elder sister now in her 
twentieth year had spent the previous winter 
with her aunt in Annapolis, where Harry 
Hunter had met her, and when the June 
ball ended the academic year, and Harry 
Hunter was a graduated Passed-Midship- 
man, Constance Howland was his promised 
wife. Then Constance had immediately re- 
turned to her home in Montgentian, and as 
soon as he could settle the few business 
matters which claimed his attention at the 
Academy, Harry hurried northward as fast 
as steam could carry him, to spend the bal- 
ance of his month’s leave in the home of his 
fiancee and become acquainted with her 
mother and sisters whom he had not yet met. 
It was rather hard for all, for although 
well known to Mrs. Harold, Mrs. How- 
land’s sister, whose home was in Annapolis, 


How SHe Got Her Name 21 

Harry Hunter, or “ Snap,” as every one 
called him, since that had been his nickname 
at the Academy, was an entire stranger to 
Constance’s relations. How he longed to 
change that attitude, and to become one of 
the family of which Mrs. Harold had told 
him so much, not even Constance suspected, 
dear as he had grown to her, and close as 
the past months had drawn them together, 
for Snap was a peculiar man in some re- 
spects. One after another his own family 
had slipped away into the Great Beyond, 
leaving him utterly alone in the world. 
True he had some warm friends, but fewer 
than the average man owing to a peculiar 
reserve, the outcome of an extremely sen- 
sitive nature. He was so afraid of an un- 
due exhibition of sentiment, yet the man’s 
whole nature was hungering for affection, 
and an abiding place in this big world which 
he could claim as his own; a roof to call 
“home,” with those beneath it who would 
welcome him and give him the love he craved. 
At present he felt utterly adrift in the world, 
for the four years spent at the Naval Acad- 
emy with only one month’s leave each year 
unconsciously limits a man’s horizon and 
when he graduates, unless he has a home to 
go to, and relatives to welcome him, he is 


22 


Captain Polly 


like a caged bird set free, and very often has 
about as much idea of how to shift for 
himself. 

Snap had been one of the brilliant men 
of his class of two hundred, had graduated 
sixth, and “ starred,” which means that he 
had held an unusual average throughout the 
four years. Yet, perhaps of those two hun- 
dred graduates, there was not a lonelier man 
leaving the massive walls of Bancroft Hall 
behind him forever than Snap when he de- 
scended its broad granite steps for the last 
time. Huge, imposing, magnificent in its 
proportions as it is, Bancroft Hall is never- 
theless, “ Quarters ” only, and bare and de- 
void of any element of home as any place can 
well be. Still, it had been the only home 
Snap had known for four years. 

And now, what lay at the end of this en- 
chanting woodland road? Was he, indeed, 
coming like the fairy prince in the dear old 
tale to wake the sleeping princess ? But the 
“ princess ” had already wakened one per- 
fect moonlight night back there in the 
beautiful colonnade of Bancroft Hall. He 
was sure of the princess. But the guard- 
ians of the princess? Her relations by whom 
she was cherished beyond words to express. 
How about those? 


How SHe Got Her Name 23 

All these thoughts, all these memories, 
had been crowding through Snap’s active 
brain as he journeyed toward the home of 
his princess, and when he left the train and 
started to walk up the hill, rather than drive 
up in one of the station cabs, they crowded, 
crowded, crowded thicker and faster than 
ever. He had sent his telegram to Con- 
stance to tell her that he would arrive earlier 
than she expected him, but local deliveries 
in a small place are necessarily slow. One 
small boy, not over robust, cannot cover a 
great territory quite as speedily as the 
magician in the Arabian Nights did upon 
his magic carpet. Constance expected a 
message telling her by which train Snap 
would arrive that afternoon; hence Polly’s 
outlook for the boy expected to bring it up, 
but Snap had overtaken his own message. 
When he turned into the woodland road and 
spied the little picket-fairy of the princess’s 
castle he instantly recognized her from the 
photograph Constance had shown him, and 
knew that the beginning of his ordeal was 
at hand. Yet no living being would have 
suspected from his manner that it was an 
ordeal for him. And here was the outcome: 
the first suggestion that he had, indeed, 

come home'' Yet, Snap never knew how 


24 


Captain Polly 


delicately the scales had balanced; did not 
guess how a hair’s weight might have tilted 
the bar the wrong way for his future 
happiness. 

Polly was the youngest member of her 
family, it is true, but Polly’s character was 
as forceful as any of her older relatives. 
Had Snap failed to ring true to her sound- 
ing the gulf between them would have been 
impassable for all time; nothing could have 
bridged it. It was a happy chance which 
prompted Polly to do picket duty; a happy 
chance which brought Ralph Wilbur, and 
the luckless Rhody up the hill; a happy 
chance which prompted that little beast to 
instantly adopt Snap as his chosen friend. 
Had Snap shown indilference to Rhody’s 
tribulations the hair’s weight would surely 
have fallen upon the wrong side of the scale. 

And now? Just once before in his whole 
life had Snap been nearer an earthly para- 
dise. Constance had often heard him say: 
‘‘ I can’t pass a child upon the street without 
longing to catch it up in my arms,” and the 
children of the officer’s families openly 
adored him. 

When Polly voluntarily put her arms 
around him and pressed her lips to his, Harry 
Himter experienced one of the sweetest mo- 


How SHe Got Her Name 25 

merits of his life and never in later years 
could the memory of it lose its vivid outline. 
Polly could hear and feel the great warm 
heart throbbing as she nestled in his arms. 
For a few minutes neither spoke. Snap 
could not have done so, and Polly realized 
that the moment was too sacred to be pro- 
faned by speech. Polly was a delicately 
attuned little instrument. 

Presently Snap said very, very softly: 
“My little sister! My little sister! Do 
you know you have indeed made this a home- 
coming for Brother Snap? ” 

“ I wanted to,” whispered Polly. “I love 
Connie so dearly, oh, so dearly, and at first, 
— at first it seemed as though we were go- 
ing to lose her; as though you were going to 
take her away from us forever, but now I 

know you ’re not; I know — I — know ” 

“ Yes, dear, what is it you know? ” 

“ I know that instead of losing Connie 
we are going to have you to love hard — 
hard,” and a rapturous hug emphasized 
Polly’s words. 

“ You have won and will hold me forever, 
little one. Connie is my Admiral, whose 
wishes and will there is no gainsaying; but 
you, honey — can you guess the name I shall 
hereafter call you by?” 


26 


Captain Polly 


‘^What?” asked Polly eagerly. 

“ Captain Polly, whom I salute here and 
now. Not a regulation salute perhaps, but 
the most binding one in the world,” and tak- 
ing Polly’s face in his hands. Snap pressed 
his lips to her eyes, her cheeks, her lips, and 
then held the face clasped while he read the 
love which had been born for him in the 
wonderful depths of those gray eyes. 

The effect of that caress upon two people 
was vastly different. To the young girl 
coming slowly through the woods by a little 
path which ran parallel with the road it 
brought a light into the starry brown eyes, 
and a glow to the velvety cheeks which would 
have delighted an artist’s soul. 

Hidden by the foliage she stood with 
clasped hands drinking in all it augured. To 
another individual who came running down 
the road it brought worse than consterna- 
tion; it brought a rage out of all proportion 
to his slight figure; a fury which made 
him forget that the man seated there upon 
the ground caressing Polly Howland, could 
have crushed him with one hand were he so 
minded. 

Ralph Wilbur paused not upon the order 
of his going. He went straight to the mark 
like the projectile from a twelve-inch gun. 


How SHe Got Her Name 27 

and his onslaught caused almost as much 
havoc and consternation. Flinging himself 
upon the astonished Hunter he shrieked in 
his boyish treble: 

“ Take your hands off Polly Howland, 
you — you — great big coward! How dare 
you kiss her? How dare you? ” 


CHAPTER III 


IN THE enemy’s COUNTRY 

A MAN in the act of embracing a lady is 
at a decided disadvantage when attacked by 
an outraged rival. If he turns upon his 
assailant, the lady is left unprotected; if he 
fails to protect himself, he may suffer dis- 
aster. It is rarely the lady herself who fills 
the breach, but the person counting upon 
Polly Howland to do the thing which the 
average mortal would do in a crisis might 
also count upon the utter rout of his or 
her calculations. 

When Ralph Wilbur descended upon 
Snap, that man was so completely taken by 
surprise that his small assailant had landed 
two or three mighty Lilliputian blows with 
his tightly-clenched fists before Snap could 
quietly raise an arm and brush him gently 
aside, but in that little fleeting moment an 
avenger of the outraged had, like Minerva, 
sprung into existence fully armed for battle, 
28 


In tKe Enemy's Country 29 

and, if necessary, sudden death. Ere Ralph 
could draw three wholesome breaths, a little 
fury had grasped him by his jacket collar 
with one hand, while the free hand boxed his 
ears with a zest which made a whole galaxy of 
stars do a sailor’s hornpipe before his eyes, 
and his unoccupied ear was vaguely con- 
scious of a torrent of words descending 
upon it. 

“ Ralph Wilbur, you — you hateful, good- 
for-nothing boy! You horrid, meddling 
busy-body ! How dare you ! How dare you 
hit my brother Snap! How dare you come 
peeking and spying on us this way! ” (If 
Polly had not been so deeply engaged, it 
is safe to say that she might have been 
aware of Ralph’s approach, for certainly 
his footfalls had not been muffled as he 
rushed upon them, nor had his tones been 
a hushed whisper.) “You let my brother 
Snap alone and if he wants to kiss me he 
may, and it ’s just a thousand times 
nearer to me than you^ll ever get, you — 


“Polly! For mercy’s sake! Do you 
mean to murder Ralph before our very 
eyes?” asked a voice divided between con- 
sternation and laughter. “ Let go of him 
this instant!” and a firm hand plucked 


30 


Captain Polly 


Miss Polly Howland from her well-nigh 
exhausted victim, and pushed said vic- 
tim beyond the reach of the avenging 
hand. It was all over in less than two 
minutes, but at the end of them one small, 
Titian-haired damsel stood glaring at a 
sorely dishevelled small boy, a young man 
was putting straight a disordered cravat and 
smoothing his hair, while a forlorn little 
Boston terrier sat whimpering in a huddled 
heap and licking a swollen paw. Poor 
Rhody had come to grief a second time, 
for when Polly sprang to Snap’s rescue 
Rhody was straightway forgotten and 
tumbled heels-over-head out of her lap. 

Constance was the first to recover her 
wits. Though still retaining her hold upon 
Polly lest she again fiy at Ralph, who stood 
barely ten feet from them glaring at the 
strange man who had brought all this to 
pass, and almost sobbing in his eagerness 
to be up and at such a barefaced villain, 
Constance reached her disengaged hand to- 
ward that same dreadful man, and into her 
eyes sprang a light which even the perturbed 
Ralph recognized as something beautiful 
and heretofore unknown, and in her voice 
sounded a note he had never before heard, 
as she said: 


In tKe E-nemy*s Ooxintry 31 

‘‘ Oh, Snap, Snap, what a welcome home 
for you, dear! ” 

Then, to add to Ralph’s complete conster- 
nation, this incorrigible man gave one mighty 
stride forward, and the next minute held 
Miss Howland in his arms, and — audacities 
of audacities ! — was pressing his lips to hers, 
while Polly rapturously hugged them both 
and cried derisively: 

“ So now, Mr. Smarty, you thought you 
knew pretty nearly everything in the world, 
didn’t you? But you didn’t know my 
brother Snap of the U. S. N., sir! And 
after this you ’d better find out what you ’re 
about before you sail straight in to fix 
everything up.” 

“ But — but — ^but how was I to know? 
She was n’t anywhere in sight, and nobody 
ever knew you had a brother, and, and I 
don’t believe he is your brother either, so 
— there — now!” was the defiant answer. 

There was an ominous light gathering in 
the gray eyes, and a direful tightening of the 
mobile lips, but before further issue could 
arise. Snap took matters in charge. 

“ Dear heart,” he said tenderly to the girl 
dearer to him than his own life, “ I reckon 
I ’ve rolled in here as a very sizable apple 
of discord; pretty near as big as a water- 


32 


Captain Polly 


melon if I can judge by the stir-up I Ve 
caused. Let me straighten it out if I can 
before we go on up yonder — home. Cap- 
tain Polly, I salute you, sir. As Executive 
Officer may I command Midshipman Ban- 
tam yonder to fall in for orders? I don’t 
know his true name yet — I ’ll learn it pres- 
ently — ^but that one fits like a body-bound 
bolt. ‘ Attention to orders! ’ ” , 

Instantly Ralph drew his heels together 
and braced his shoulders. He had been in 
school long enough to gather a vague idea 
of what the word “ attention ” implied any- 
way, though he was still quivering partly 
from rage and partly from nervousness, 
and in spite of his most heroic efforts to 
control them his lips would tremble and his 
eyelids blink. 

Snap appeared to be oblivious of both as 
he braced his shoulders in a manner which 
set secret thrills of admiration running down 
the spine of the small man facing him, and 
caused two feminine hearts to beat with 
delight. 

‘‘Now, Mr. Bantam, I wish to ask a 
question or two which you will do well to 
answer with judgment.” 

“ Yes, sir.” The voice was a trifle shaky. 

“ I would like to know by what right you 


In tHe Unemy’s Covintry 33 

fall upon and assail an officer of the United 
States Navy on the public highways of this 
delightful town of Montgentian? ” 

“ I — I — did n’t know you were an officer, 
and, I don’t believe you are. Officers wear 
uniforms.” 

‘‘ Do I look like a brigand that you doubt 
my respectability?” 

“ No — no, sir, not a brigand, but — ^but — 
just a little like a pirate; you’re so dark,” 
was the honest reply. 

Executive Officer had considerable ado to 
keep his countenance at this juncture, but 
somehow managed to, though he dared not 
turn to look toward a certain pair of 
laughing eyes just behind him. 

“Ah, do I?” he queried. “Well, I’ve 
been compared to several distinguished in- 
dividuals, or creatures, in the course of the 
past twenty-three years, but this is the first 
time I ’ve attained to the honor of resemb- 
ling the redoubtable Captain Kidd. Great 
old party! Ever read of his doings?” 

“Yes, sir — lots!” There was a ring of 
enthusiasm in the tone. 

“ Bad lot, near as I can make out; better 
not take him for your model. Did no end 
of mischief, and was not a pleasant com- 
panion.” 


34 


Captain Polly 


“ Well, the books don’t say that he hissed 
people, anyway,” was the thrust next given. 

Snap laughed in spite of himself. Then 
asked seriously: 

“How do you know that? If Captain 
Kidd had met anything half as bonny and 
lovable as this, do you think he could have 
helped kissing her? ” and Snap laid his arms 
caressingly across Polly’s shoulder and drew 
her close to his side, Rhody and all, for 
Polly had once more gathered the little dog 
into her arms. 

Ralph’s lips tightened again. Snap re- 
sumed quickly: 

“ But you have not answered my question 
and much hinges on the answer.” It came 
with a rush: 

“ I was n’t going to let you, nor anybody 
else, kiss Polly Howland if I could help 
it. You think I ’m just nothing but a 
Western Union Telegraph boy and have 
got to run my legs most off every day, and 
get blowed up by all kinds of people, and 
do things I hate like blazes to do, but I ’m 
a gentleman^ s son, and my mother ’s a lady, 
just like Mrs. Howland, and she ’s Mrs. 
Howland’s friend too, and — and Polly 
Howland ’s mine, and — and I ’m not going 
to be a messenger boy forever. I ’m only 


In tKe Unemy’s Covintry 


35 


one now ’cause I want to help, and I 
can earn enough money this way to buy 
my shoes and clothes, and that ’s — ^that ’s 
better’n loafin ’ and taking mother’s money 
when I ’m more ’n fourteen years old. 
When I ’ve got through the High School 
I ’m going to do — ^to do — well, I ’m going 
to do something great and don’t you forget 
it either. This job is just summer work. 
You think I ’m just no ’count because I ’m 
so blamed little and skinny, but just you 
wait. Maybe I ’ll never be as husky as 
you are. But I ’ll bet I can make my 
brains grow even if I can’t make my body, 
and you just quit standin’ up there and 
running me ’cause you ’re big and think it ’s 
smart, and you know you ’ve got the bulge 
on me all right, all right. I call you just 
a big bully! ” 

The words ended in a boyish howl of rage 
as Ralph, regardless of orders or discipline, 
cast himself upon the soft woodland earth 
and, burying his face in his arms, fought out 
a man’s battle in his boyish soul. 

Into the fine eyes of the man sprang a 
light of intense admiration. Then they 
softened wonderfully as, stooping, he took 
Polly’s face in his hands, kissed her very 
tenderly, and said: 


36 


Captain Polly 


“Honey, will you and Connie walk on 
up the road a little way and wait for brother 
Snap? Sweetheart,” turning to Constance, 
“ as upon many former occasions, I may 
have something to regret, though I ’m san- 
guine enough to believe I shall not in this 
instance, for there lies a man, I did not 
suspect it at first, but I know it now. Go 
with Polly, dear heart, and wait up yonder 
beneath that great white birch for me. I 
must make good here and — well — I was 
once a kid myself and got a good bit 
shunted about the world; more than I like 
to think any other kid may if I can help 
it.” 

“ I knew you would be quick to under- 
stand. Yes, dear, Polly and I will wait for 
you up yonder. And, O Snap, you are 
dear to me — so dear. These little acts are 
so much more a part of you than you 
suspect.” 

“If so they are rather a recent develop- 
ment which those back yonder in Annapolis 
would never suspect I ’d be capable of 
standing for, I reckon, and but for you I 
shouldn’t. Whatever is good in me you 
have discovered and brought to the surface. 
God bless you for it! ” and swiftly the girl’s 
face was taken in the man’s hands and his 


In tKe E-nemy's Country 37 

lips pressed to her eyes, which had grown 
limpid at his words. 

She did not reply, but taking Polly’s hand 
turned and walked slowly up the road. 

Snap watched them a moment, all that 
was finest, noblest, best in him shown in the 
face he turned toward them. Then mur- 
muring: “Man, when you met Constance 
'Howland you met your salvation, and you’d 
better thank God for it with every breath 
you draw,” the next second he was seated 
upon the ground by the prone figure. Lay- 
ing his hand upon the slight shoulder, he 
said: 

“ Old chap, I beg your pardon for run- 
ning you, and you can get up and knock 
my block off if you want to; I deserve it, 
and I won’t raise a finger to stop it; but 
before you sail in, will you listen to a word 
or two that I want to say? ” 

There was a slight hunch of the shoulders, 
and an inarticulate sound from the face 
buried in the arms. 

“ After all, there is n’t so very much dif- 
ference in our ages, is there? Only nine 
years at best, and nine years are not such 
a lot when you count them quickly. Yet it 
does seem a big stretch when you ’re look- 
ing forward instead of backward, I ’ll admit. 


38 


Captain Follx 


I wish I were looking forward as you are; 
there ’d be a heap of things I ’d change, I 
tell you. But take a brace, old man, and 
sit up. I know you ’re sore as a crab, and 
I don’t blame you a little bit, but I did n’t 
understand then, and — well, yours was a 
flank attack in a way; you caught me un- 
prepared. You see it isn’t every man 
comes to visit his future wife and finds an 
A-1 little sister right on hand and ready to 
welcome him as Polly welcomed me, and 
the two experiences together went to my 
head I guess.” 

Slowly the little figure beside him drew 
itself together and rose up. Slowly it 
turned toward him a face from which it 
bravely sought to banish the traces of those 
disgracefully unmanly tears. Snap turned 
and looked up the road toward the figures 
seated beneath the white birch. Ralph took 
advantage of the opportunity thus given, 
and hastily drawing his handkerchief from 
his pocket removed as best he could all 
traces of that lapse which had mortified his 
very soul. When Snap turned toward him 
once more, the handkerchief had been re- 
stored to its pocket and he sat staring 
straight before him. 

Snap held out his hand. 


In tHe Unemy’s Coxjmtry 39 

“Will you shake and forget it?” he 
asked. “ I ’m no end sorry — honest. Per- 
haps I ’m not old enough yet to see as far 
behind me as I ought, and so I go blunder- 
ing in with both feet. Then — I did n’t 
know Polly. Any man would spunk up 
for her; she ’s just like Connie, and any one 

who dared — well, if I thought ” 

“Are you honest going to marry Miss 
Howland?” broke in Ralph. “’Cause if 
you are, that changes the whole thing, of 
course. Polly will be your sister then, even 
if she is n’t yet. But — ” and the sentence 
was left incomplete. 

“ If you loved a girl and had a pretty 
good notion she loved you, what would you 
do?” 

“ I ’d marry her, you bet, and that ’s just 

exactly what I ’m going to do when ” 

“ Steady! Pipe down, old man. We 
won’t mention names. Let me guess a 
little. All right, and don’t you change 
your mind, and go in and win if you can 
make good — in every way — but go slow. 
You ’ve got a heap to do in the course of 
the next eight or nine years. How do you 
mean to set about it? What ’s your line? ” 
“What’s yours?” was the prompt 
counter question. 


CHAPTER IV 


CAPITULATION 

The man looked at the boy for a moment, 
then answered: 

“ That ’s a question I Ve been trying to 
answer for four years. I Ve been trying 
to persuade myself that I ’m a full-fledged 
officer in Uncle Sam’s Navy, and four years 
ago I thought it a sure thing, — oath taken, 
brass buttons and all. Then I got down 
to business and began to realize that I was 
nothing but a plebe and up against a few 
things I ’d never dreamed could be ; that 
was in hazing days back yonder,” with a 
nod somewhere in the direction of the South, 
— vague but significant to his hearer. Then 
came youngster year and I began to feel 
that I might after all claim the right to 
live. In second-class year I was a fool. 
In first-class year I found my salvation, and 
that ’s why I ’m here to-day. I graduated, 
and now I have the honor of being a Passed 
Midshipman of the United States Navy. 

40 


Capitvilation 


41 


It takes a lot of words to say it, but after 
all I ’m neither fish, fiesh, nor good red 
herring, though I have the privilege of 
hustling in all three capacities for the next 
two years. Then^ if I ’m lucky and pass 

my exams, I ’ll be an Ensign and ” 

Snap broke off suddenly and glanced to- 
ward the white birch. Ralph’s eyes fol- 
lowed him. Somehow the boy’s mind had 
followed with singularly keen comprehension 
each word the man had spoken. 

“ Two years is an awful long time to wait, 
ain’t it? ” he asked with seeming irrelevance. 

The dark eyes came swiftly back to the 
brown ones raised to them. 

‘‘ Son, sometimes it seems an eternity, 
especially when I think of what a heap of 
regeneration I need to be put through, and 
the work which must be done to fit me to 
walk beside that little girl yonder for the 
rest of my days. And then again they don’t 
seem half long enough to accomplish all I 
want to. That ’s worse than a problem in 
math, for you, is n’t it? ” 

The curly brown head wagged negatively : 
“ Guess it is n’t so hard to understand 
as you think. I know I look little and I 
am little ; I have n’t grown much lately 
somehow, though maybe I ’ll get a start 


42 


Captain Polly 


pretty soon, but I ’m pretty strong for all 
that. I can do any fellow of my size. See 
that muscle? ” and the shirt-sleeve was rolled 
up to lay hare a little broom-handle of an 
arm with some faint ripple of muscle visible 
as the arm was drawn up in a truly 
aggressive manner. 

Without a change of countenance Snap 
ran his wonderfully sensitive fingers along 
that pipe-stem arm which without half try- 
ing he could have snapped with a single 
turn of his wrist, and as he did so the arm 
flexed, leaving the hand lying limply in his 
own. Such a slender, bony little hand, and 
none too clean either. Snap’s was as near 
perfect as a hand could be, the long, filbert- 
shaped nails beautifully cared for. The 
contrast seemed to strike the boy, for he 
regarded both the hands critically, then 
remarked : 

“ Gee ! but yours looks like a girl’s hand, 
doesn’t it? It is so clean and — and — oh! 
so fixed up, — the nails, I mean, look so nice. 
You must wash ’em an awful lot, and what 
do you do to your nails? I don’t believe 
you ever do anything that makes ’em get 
black and dirty, do you now? ” 

“A heap of things. Coal ship when 
we ’re cruising, work in the foundry and 


Capitxilation 


43 


machine shop hack yonder, go out in cutter- 
drill and get all mucked up, and grub around 
generally, 

“ Then how the deuce do you do it? ” was 
the incredulous question. 

“ Heap o’ washee, as John Chinaman 
says. Suppose I let them stay smudgy, do 
you think I ’d ever dare take Miss Con- 
stance’s in them? ” and a whimsical smile 
crept into the dark eyes. The brown ones 
were perfectly serious as they were bent 
upon Snap’s hand. 

“ That ’s so. Say, maybe that ’s the rea- 
son Polly won’t ever let me touch hers.” 
The eyes were raised questioningly. 

‘‘Lot in that. Girls hate anything messy, 
and especially a sloppy man. Have n’t 
much use for that sort myself.” At this 
juncture Ralph glanced quickly over his 
own toilet. It had suffered considerably 
from his humanitarian act toward Rhody. 
Then he tried to withdraw the grimy hand, 
but the long fingers tightened slightly over 
it and held it imprisoned as Snap shook his 
head, and with one of his rare smiles which 
seldom failed to win, said: 

“ Let it rest where it is, old chap; we can 
talk better then. I can’t keep the girls 
waiting much longer, but I want to ask you 


44 


Captain Polly 


a few questions; of course, you needn’t 
answer if you don’t want to, but I thought 
maybe I could boost things along a little 
for you. Just a hazy notion of mine, but 
I ’d have been mighty glad of a boost or 
two when I was your age. Might have 
saved me some pretty hard bumps later. 
Now I ’ve told you my line, what about 
yours? ” 

“I’ve got two more years in High School, 
and then I thought I ’d try for college. I 
want to be a civil engineer if I can. Only 
trouble is we haven’t got a blamed thing 
to do with any more. Father died two 
years ago, and since then mother’s done a 
lot of things. She used to sing mighty well 
and had a place down in the choir at St. 
John’s, then something got the matter with 
her throat and all that was knocked out ker^ 
slump. Then she tried sewing, but she 
was n’t strong enough for it, and now she 
is down in the Library. She likes that but, 
gosh ! we have to scrimp like anything to keep 
our flat and get enough to eat. I wanted 
to go to New York ever so long ago; I 
know a fellow who gets six dollars a week 
and he ain’t as old as I am neither, but he 
looks about sixteen, he ’s so big and husky. 
But mother ’s just as set as cement when 


Capitulation 


45 


she makes up her mind, and she says educa- 
tion must come first. You see she ’s just 
stuck on an education, for father was a 
Princeton man, and she graduated from 
college too. Oh, we used to he different 
before father failed in his business and got 
sick. I ’m doing this for the reason I said,” 
and Ralph pointed to the telegraph blank 
lying upon the ground beside his cap. 

“ And a right plucky chap I call you. 
Listen here : How would you like to enter 
the Navy and become an officer?” 

“Just like you?” and Ralph almost 
bounded to his feet in his eagerness. 

“A heap better than I ever thought of 
being, I hope. 'But would you like it? ” 

“ You bet I would! How can I? What 
must I do? When must I begin? I 
wonder if mother would let me. Oh, gee! 
Would n’t that be great! Come quick, let ’s 
tell Polly! ” 

“Slow down! Slow down, old man! 
We ’ll tell Polly pretty soon, but you and 
I have kept both Polly and Constance wait- 
ing too long already. Now pay attention 
to me two minutes longer. Here ’s my 
card. Give it to your mother, tell her all 
about our meeting, every word, mind you, 
and tell her I beg her permission to call 


46 


Captain Polly 


upon her before I leave Montgentian in 
order to talk all this over. There may be 
a heap more than just chance in it, you 
know. If you were to ask Miss Constance 
I reckon she ’d say the Sky Pilot had the 
running of this little job, and I don’t think 
she ’d be out of her reckonings either. But 
if you and your mother mean to take my 
hint seriously there ’s a heap to be thought 
out and done between this and prep year, 
and, say, son, you ’ve got to do a power 
of growing, do you know that? You’ve 
got to measure 5 ft. 2 in. and weigh 105 lbs. 
at least to begin with, and I ’ve got to tell 
you how to set about doing both.” 

“ Can you? Is there any way T can grow 
hoth ways? So, and so,” and Ralph raised 
his hand above his head and then extended 
both sidewise as the possible width to be 
attained. There was a wide discrepancy 
between the number of cubic inches of air 
his small frame displaced and the possible 
number he aspired to. 

“ Easier thing than you believe. But 
now we must be moving. You hike on down 
yonder to your office, they ’ll think you ’re 
taking a — a — ^well, a mighty long time to 
deliver that message, and I ’ve kept the 
girls waiting just twice as long as I meant 


Capit\:ilation 


47 


to,” and Snap rose from his earthy seat, 
dusted off his clothing, and then scrubbed 
off his small companion’s. 

“ But when — when will you see mother, 
and when can I see you again? And how 
about Rhody yonder? ” 

“ Are we chums? ” asked Snap, seriously. 

“ You bet your life, if you ’ll let me be! ” 
was the positive answer. 

“ Well, then trust me. Now beat it 
while your shoes are good,” and picking up 
Ralph’s cap he gave it a hasty dusting off, 
instinctive act of Bancroft Hall days, 
clapped it upon the boy’s head, and facing 
him toward the town, said “ Hike ! ” 

Without another word Ralph rushed off 
down the hill at a pace which presently 
brought him breathless to the W. U. T. 
office where a sharp reprimand for his tardi- 
ness awaited him, but Ralph’s head was too 
near the stars for so mundane a trifle to 
move him. 

Meanwhile, Snap strode quickly toward 
the white birch, to be met half way by Polly, 
who hurled herself upon him asking eagerly, 
although to one of keen deduction the voice 
held a note of defiance as well as curiosity: 

“ Did you give him a good soimd scold- 
ing! I guess he deserved it. Or did you 


48 


Captain Polly 


tell him never to cut up like that again as 
long as he lives and breathes? ” 

‘‘ Neither, honey. He ’s all right, that 
little chap, and big things lie ahead if I ’m 
not mistaken in my man.” 

“ Oh, tell me all about it — please do,” begged 
Polly, clinging tightly to the hand which 
had been so naturally laid upon her shoulder, 
and looking eagerly up to the face which 
was smiling down upon her own bonny, 
eager one. 

“Not now. Captain. Admiral’s waiting 
yonder and our own affairs must wait.” 

By this time they had nearly reached 
Constance, who had risen to her feet and 
stood smilingly waiting for them. Rhody 
was lying at her feet. Snap instantly came 
to attention and saluted, Polly imitating 
him like a small automatom. Rhody’s 
“ fatally twisted ” tail beat the “ recall ” 
upon the ground. 

“ What orders, sir? ” asked Snap. 

“Mother and mess call,” laughed Con- 
stance. “ Have you any idea of the time, 
you dawdling man? It is long past twelve 
and our luncheon is served at one, and be- 
fore you can get a mouthful you ’ve got to 
meet mother and Gail and be inspected. 
Oh, you may well quail! Gail’s eyes are 


Capitxjlation 49 

as sharp as needles, and mother’s are quite 
merciless ” 

“No such thing!” protested Polly. 
“ They are as brown, and soft as — as — as 
a bossy’s and just as kind too. Don’t you 
believe her, brother Snap, and don’t you be 
scared of mother a bit. I'll take you to 
her and stand by you every single minute.” 

The thought flashed through Constance’s 
mind of the gentle, lovable little mother up 
on the hill from whom her three daughters 
had yet to hear a sharp word, and of her 
eager, if admirably suppressed restlessness 
as the day to meet her future son-in-law 
drew nigh; of her painstaking forethought 
that his welcome should be the welcome to 
an own beloved son; that no shadow of that 
chilling term “ in-law ” might fall upon him 
from her. Then she looked at this splen- 
did specimen of manhood before her. How 
tiny and frail her mother would seem be- 
side him! How potential the ensuing half 
hour would be for her, for her mother and 
for Snap ! How little her mother suspected 
Snap’s near presence! She was not expect- 
ing him until late in the afternoon. Well, 
perhaps it was better that he should arrive 
when least expected after all, — for it is 
usually the unexpected event which turns 


50 Captain Polly 

out best in the end. Then her eyes softened 
and she said: 

“ Come — home — ^^dear.” 

“ Gladly, sweetheart,” was the hushed 
answer. 

“ But Bhody,” cried Polly. “ He can’t 
walk all that way; I must carry him.” 

“ By your leave. Captain,” interrupted 
Snap, and stooping down he lifted the little 
dog into his arms. 

“ Now forward, march! ” he said. 

With Polly jigging along on one side 
fast hold of his free arm, Rhody snuggled 
as close to him as he well could snuggle, 
and Constance walking at his other side, 
her face radiating the happiness which filled 
her heart, the odd group started up the hill. 
It was not a long walk, and it was a very 
beautiful one. As they drew near the house, 
Constance saw Gail at an upper window 
and waved her hand to her. Gail sprang to 
her feet and stood staring at them as though 
she could not believe the evidence of her 
own senses, then she vanished and Constance 
laughed under her breath. Well she knew 
that Gail had bolted for the dining-room in 
order to have the extra cover laid for the 
unexpected guest for luncheon. 

Snap had not seen anything of it; his 


Capitvilatioxi 


51 


eyes had been riveted upon a figure which 
at that moment pushed open the screen door 
giving upon the broad piazza and was now 
standing at the head of the steps watching 
the approaching group. In her hand she 
held an unopened telegraph envelope. She 
was a small, dainty, little body, gowned in 
the softest of lavender-sprigged muslins, 
with dainty lavender ribbon belt, and dainty 
lavender ribbon bows at throat and wrists. 
Her skin was soft and fair, her hair a rich 
brown braided in soft heavy braids and 
coiled about her beautifully poised head ; her 
features perfectly regular, and the mouth 
gentleness and tenderness itself. But the 
eyes were the truest index to her character. 
As Polly had said, they were brown and 
soft as a bossy’s; the kind of eyes into 
which babies smile responsively; the kind 
that children trust instinctively; the kind 
which win the confidence of young people 
instantly, and older ones turn to in an hour 
of trial. Eyes which reveal a soul so pure, 
so lovable, so unselfish that intuitively those 
looking into them feel: “ This woman can 
love with all her heart, with all her soul, 
with all her strength, and with all her mind; 
truly loving her neighbor as herself, and 
with justice. In her will be found gentle- 


52 


Captain Polly 


ness coupled with strength, and her children 
shall rise up and call her blessed.’’ 

As the two reached the foot of the half- 
dozen steps leading up to the piazza, Con- 
stance glanced up and into her eyes flooded 
a look of faith and confidence beautiful to 
behold. The answering look was one of 
the most perfect understanding and a slight 
nod and a gentle smile accompanied it. 
Polly’s face held a radiant triumph, as 
though she were saying: 

“ Is n’t he all and lots more than Connie 
told us? ” 

But into Snap’s had sprung a light which 
went straight to the mother heart waiting 
to welcome him, and she did exactly what 
the mother heart prompted. With a look 
which Snap never forgot, she extended both 
arms to him. 

Tossing his straw hat upon the grass, he 
turned to Polly and said: 

“ Take Rhody, dear,” and then with one 
bound was up three of the steps, clasped in 
the arms waiting for him, his head bowed 
upon her shoulder, his arms about her as 
she said: 

“My boy! My boy! Welcome home, 
dear!” 

“ Come, dearie,” said Constance. “ We 


Oapit-ulatioxi 


53 


will go into the house with Rhody,” and 
without a protest Polly followed. She felt 
the moment too sacred to be desecrated by 
other eyes. 


CHAPTER V 


ORDERS FROM THE CAPTAIN 

Luncheon was over and the girls and 
Snap were seated upon the shady piazza 
with its beautiful view of the broad valley 
and Lake Caprice spread before them. 
Snap sat between Constance and Gail 
smoking, and enjoying his after-luncheon 
cigarette as only a man of his unusual tem- 
perament could. Polly had disappeared 
soon after luncheon, and Mrs. Howland was 
occupied for the moment with some domestic 
arrangements. Snap’s hand lay upon Con- 
stance’s which rested on his knee, but his 
eyes were upon Gail; Gail the bonny, the 
merry, the altogether irresistible in her 
sixteen years of perfect girlhood. Jolly, 
fun-loving, absolutely unaffected Gail. 
As Snap’s dark eyes rested upon her he 
smiled a quizzical little smile and said, 
though the long slender fingers tightened 
slightly over those beneath his own as he 
spoke: 


54 


55 


Orders from tKe Captain 

“ Talk about a man falling upon his feet. 
By Jove, I feel as though I ’d as many as 
a centipede and had lit on every one of 
them. For a good many years I knocked 
around boarding-schools and never knew 
what home and family meant; I was too 
far away from mother ever to know any 
home life with her, and then — then I lost 
her, you know. Four years down in the 
Academy aren’t exactly what we would 
picture as fireside comforts, with your Lares 
and Penates smiling at you from either side 
your hearth-stone. The first hint of home 
life I had while down there was given by 
‘The Little Mother’ ” 

“ Who? ” interrupted Gail. 

“ Your Aunt Janet. We all call her that, 
for that is exactly what she is to us all. 
And now I ’ve come up here and found a 
real one, and you. I tell you, Connie, it ’s 
a lucky thing for you I didn’t meet Gail 
first; you’d never be the future Mrs. 
Hunter.” 

“ Well, upon my word! For all the self- 
conceit ever expressed that is the very limit. 
Don’t for a moment hesitate to change if 
the other lady suits you better and is will- 
ing,” was Constance’s bantering retort, 
while Gail colored and laughed with all a 


56 


Captain Polly 


girl’s happy, care-free mirth, then flew back 
at Snap with: 

“ I think I ’ll wait until it comes my turn 
to visit Aunt Janet, and then I ’ll take my 
pick, sir. With so many men down yonder 
I mean to make a careful choice, and — well 
— since I ’ve seen a specimen I rather ap- 
prove of the type. Thank you, I ’ll wait 
a year or so and then 

“Great Scott! Who mentioned conceit, 
audacity, and a few of the other minor vir- 
tues?” cried Snap, leaning forward to flick 
the ash from his cigarette. As he settled 
back in his chair, a pair of soft hands were 
slipped beneath his chin, drawing his head 
gently upward and backward until his eyes 
were upturned to meet a pair smiling kindly 
and amusedly into his own. He had not 
heard Mrs. Howland approach through the 
living-room window, or step upon the piazza, 
though she had overheard their conversation. 
Snap strove to rise to his feet, but, if deli- 
cate, the hands were stronger than he 
thought and he was at a disadvantage. 

“ What are these girls saying to my — 
son? ” she asked, bending down to rest her 
face against the wonderfully silky hair. 

Instantly the cigarette was tossed over 
the piazza rail as Snap’s hands were raised 


Orders from tHe Captain 57 

to cover those encircling his chin, and his 
eyes softened to a tenderness which thrilled 
the older woman’s soul. 

“ Reckon I started the fracas — as per 
usual/^ laughed Snap. “You don’t know 
my ability in that direction yet, Mrs. — No! 
I can't call you that. This is home, and 
pretty close to heaven, — as close as I ever 
deserve to get, may be, — and I ’ll never for- 
get my welcome to it as long as I live. You 
can never be Mrs. Howland to me; it must 
be a name all your own. Mrs. Harold is 
‘ The Little Mother,’ and always will be, 
for she was the best friend I ever had, but 
you are the little girl’s mother. When I ’ve 
really the right to call you mine, no name 
will ever be dearer to my lips, but mean- 
while — during the two necessary years of 
probation — what is it to be? ” and tne dark 
eyes looked earnestly into the gentle brown 
ones. 

“ Whatever one you decide upon will be 
very precious to me, dear.” 

There was a moment’s silence in which 
Snap’s keen mind worked rapidly. Foreign 
languages had always been easy for him to 
acquire, and the little idioms of French, 
German, or Spanish fell as easily from his 
tongue as his own. Then he asked softly: 


58 


Captain Polly 


^May it be Carissima? You are that to 
me. Much dearer than you guess, for the 
soil was ripe for the sowing and the moment 
auspicious.” 

‘‘ None could be more beautiful to me. 
I thank you, dear,” and her lips were 
pressed swiftly to the eyes turned up to 
hers. Constance’s were suffused when Snap 
looked toward her, and Gail’s usually danc- 
ing ones were filled with a tender light. 
Moving to the other side of Constance, Mrs. 
Howland slipped into the unoccupied porch 
chair, and as she did so Constance’s arm 
encircled her, and the girl whispered as she 
pressed her lips to her mother’s cheek : 

“ Have you any idea how happy you have 
made me by taking him right into your 
heart as you have. Mother? ” 

‘‘ It was not a hard task,” smiled Mrs. 
Howland. “ He found the portals of it 
ajar and crept in so gently and naturally, 
and is a wonderfully precious tenant. He 
will bide ‘ Till forever passes by.’ ” 

There was a quick intaking of Snap’s 
breath, and the little upraising of the head 
which Constance knew so well, but he did 
not speak. Then a commotion arose at the 
farther end of the piazza, and the next 
second Polly came tearing around the corner 


Orders from tKe Captain 59 

at full tilt, Rhody hobbling upon his three 
legs after her. 

“Hello, little craft! Where away?” 
sang out Snap, his tremendously deep voice 
ringing out as it might have rung on board 
ship. 

“ Oh, brother Snap, I Ve found out all 
about him, and I hurried back to tell you 
’cause I thought you ’d want to know right 
off quick.” 

“ Did you think I ’d grown tired of my 
new holding ground and was ready to weigh 
anchor. Captain?” asked Snap, reaching 
out to catch the little figure hurling her- 
self upon him like a torpedo-boat under full 
headway. 

''One hell! Slow down. Captain! Struck 
heavy weather? You seem to have carried 
away your foreskysail and mizzen top- 
gallant-brace,” for the how which had tied 
Polly’s curly mop out of her eyes was flop- 
ping rakishly over one ear, and her belt 
had come undone and was hanging by the 
little straps of linen through which it had 
been slipped. Polly herself was hot, breath- 
less, and dusty. She paid no attention what- 
ever to Snap’s words or her mother’s and 
sisters’ exclamations of dismay or inquiry. 
Snap laughed outright, but picking the 


6o 


Captain Polly 


dishevelled young lady up bodily seated her 
upon his knees, saying: 

“ Let go anchor! Now what ’s it all 
about? ” 

“ Rhody! I Ve found out all about him. 
I ran down the hill ” 

“What!” exclaimed Gail. “Polly, do 
you mean to tell us you Ve been way down 
to the village? ” 

“Of course! Why not? I had to run 
like the very devil ” 

“Polly! My little girl! Baby!” were 
the scandalized exclamations of the feminine 
portion of Polly’s hearers. A smothered 
chuckle evinced the masculine portion’s 
sense of humor. 

“ Well, I did,” insisted Polly, with the 
expression of a seraph. 

“ But you need not use such language to 
impress that fact upon us,” remonstrated 
Constance. “What do you suppose Snap 
will think of you? ” 

“ Why, that is exactly what he would have 
said. Sailors always say such things, don’t 
they, brother Snap?” was the wholly dis- 
concerting retort, as Polly turned her great 
gray eyes upon him. 

For one second Snap struggled manfully 
to conquer his risibles, then the dark hair 


Orders from tHe Captain 6l 

was buried in the auburn as Snap hugged 
Polly close, his whole body shaking with 
smothered laughter. Polly never turned a 
hair, but eyed her mother and sisters with a 
look which said as plainly as words could have 
done: “What did I tell you? He didn’t 
deny it.” At that moment Constance 
caught one black, mischievous eye peering 
at her from out Polly’s tousled curls. 
Then Snap sat up and taking the bonny 
little face in both his hands said: 

“ Polly, you ’re dead right. I ’d have 
said just that as sure as guns if I hadn’t 
said something a heap worse. We ’re a 
hard lot, I ’m afraid, but, honey, I ’d cut 
it out if I were you. He ’s a great old 
scapegoat, that same devil, and I dare say 
has to stand for a lot more than he deserves, 
but just the same he has n’t the entree into 
polite circles — your mother’s and sisters’ 
for instance — so let ’s not invite him. 
Maybe I shall some day when my wits get 
sort of wool-gathering, but I ’d hate to think 
I ’d set you the example. Now what about 
Rhody?” 

“ Why, you know I wanted to find out 
who owned him and everything, and whether 
I might keep him or not, and what do you 
think I found out? Ralph had just a little 


62 


Captain Polly 


time to spare after luncheon and he went 
with me to see the people he ’d seen Rhody 
with, — they live way down in Brook Hol- 
low, — and they said they were keeping 
Rhody for William Smith, — ^you know him. 
Mother, he belonged to one of the battle- 
ships; I don’t know which one or what he 
was on it, do you, brother Snap?” 

“ Yes, because if it is the same William 
Smith who was down at Annapolis he was 
on the Olympia Second Class Cruiser as 
Chief Petty Officer, but was transferred to 
one of the battleships when the fleet started 
on the cruise last December. He had a 
month’s leave before joining his ship at the 
Roads and came north somewhere.” 

“ He came to Montgentian,” broke in 
Polly. “We found that out too. He came 
to see Mrs. Pringle ; she ’s his sister-in-law ; 
his wife’s dead; and when he came he 
brought Rhody with him; somebody at 
Annapolis gave Rhody to him. Didn’t 
you ever see Rhody there?” Polly’s tone 
was reproachful, as though any one who had 
once seen Rhody ought never to forget him. 

“ Not to my knowledge,” smiled Snap. 
“ But if you ever happen to visit Crabtown 
you will not be surprised at that, for I know 
of no place upon earth that has a larger 


Orders from tKe Captain 63 

aggregation of dogs, all sorts and conditions 
of dogs, owned and at large, thoroughbred 
and mongrel — principally mongrel, — and 
continually in evidence and under foot, than 
that place has. There might have been a 
hundred Rhodys lost in the shuffle, and I 
dare say the ramifications of the Rhody 
family would prove truly amazing if we 
could trace them,” and Snap chuckled at 
his memory of the Annapolitan dogs; as 
motley a collection as one could stumble 
upon, running at large day and night, 
wrangling, fighting, disreputably dirty, 
mangy, deformed, some minus an eye or a 
leg, but as happy-go-lucky as the young 
ragamuffins to whom they attached them- 
selves, and rampaged the town in the great- 
est good-fellowship. But Polly had no idea 
of classing Rhody with that category. So 
she entered her protest against Snap’s 
insinuation. 

“Now, brother Snap, you know Rhody 
is n’t that kind of a dog at all. He is a 
gentleman-dog; can’t you see that?” 

“ Granted. What then? ” 

“ Well, if he is, he must be treated like a 
gentleman-dog. Mr. Smith wanted dread- 
fully to take him along with him, but 
couldn’t, ’cause it was such an awful long 


64 


Captain Folly- 


cruise. The ships had to go way, way 
round South America, you know, and come 
up to California, where you are going to 
meet yours, Connie says.” 

“ Fact. And by Jove, I Ve got a brain 
throb ! Rhody means Rhode Island, of 
course. My ship, and I ’ll bet two cents to 
a collar button it ’s Smith’s too. Great 
work! Suppose I take Rhody along with 
me, let him report for duty when I do, and 
make the great cruise? ” 

Snap got no further for at that point 
Polly promptly strangled him. From the 
moment Ralph had deposited Rhody and 
his mud upon her lap, Rhody had been 
signalled out from among ordinary dogs, 
and her busy little brain began formulating 
plans for his future. The first step had, of 
course, been to learn to whom he belonged, 
and whether his guardian pro tern, might 
lay her plans to become his guardian for all 
time. In her interview with Mrs. Pringle 
she had intuitively gathered that Rhody 
was a none too welcome addition to that 
lady’s home circle. Indeed, she had seemed 
quite enthusiastic at the prospect of his join- 
ing any other home circle of proportions large 
enough to slip its rim over him and hold 
him; a task which she had found well-nigh 


Orders from tine Captain 65 


impossible, for it must be remembered that 
Rhody was an Annapolitan dog, and Anna- 
politan dogs, like Annapolitan hoys, recog- 
nize no boundary lines ; anybody else’s 
grounds, back-yards, fields, or piazzas are 
just exactly as good as their own. Rhody 
was a sea-dog even if his voyagings thus far 
had been limited to trips to and from the 
Olympia, at anchor since Second Class 
Cruise just beyond the sea wall in the 
Severn River. William Smith had often 
kept the little dog on board with him, and 
Rhody had grown nearly frantic when on 
the trips to and fro the little steam launch 
had bobbed upon the waves threatening to 
pitch him overboard until he at length found 
his sea-legs. Naturally no one knew any- 
thing of these facts, and Rhody could not 
enlighten them. All he could do was to sit 
at Snap’s feet during this conversation, and 
cock his head knowingly to one side when 
the words ‘‘ Smith,” Olympia/^ or “ on 
board ” were used. Presently Snap became 
aware of the little beast’s actions and said: 

“ Polly, look sharp ! Rhody, where ’s 
Smith? On board the Olympia? 

I wonder how a human being would feel 
if, while possessing perfect hearing, but en- 
tirely deprived of speech, he were suddenly 


66 


Captain Polly 


asked a question which he would give more 
than anything in this world to answer, yet 
realized how powerless he was to do so? 
Poor little Rhody was in that situation 
hard and fast, but he strove bravely to make 
amends. Barking madly he spun around 
upon his three whole legs, then feeling this 
inadequate to express his ecstasy he rose 
upon his hind legs and let his fore legs hang 
as limply as possible; a brave attempt at 
“ attention.” Smith had taught him the 
trick. 

The next second Polly tumbled heels over 
head from Snap’s knees and was holding 
the little beast in her arms, as she cried : 

“ Oh, brother Snap ! Brother Snap, will 
you take him to the Rhode Island with you? 
Will you? ” 

Snap rose gravely to his feet, as gravely 
came to attention before Constance, as 
gravely saluted, and said: “ Sir, Captain 
Polly and I await orders.” 

“ Quick, Connie! Quick! ” was the Cap- 
tain’s very non-regulation interruption, and, 
alack! the “Admiral’s” was not one whit 
better, for, with equal enthusiasm, she cried: 

“ Can you, Snap? Oh, please do if you 
can.” 

Snap laughed. “ For a future Admiral’s 


Orders from tHe Captain 67 


wife you ’re no sort of use on discipline, 
Connie and Captain Polly — well, I ’ve got 
to begin on Ralph, I see, and leave him to 
whip you both into shape or you ’ll disgrace 
the service — and mt. But Rhody goes all 
the same. When I light out for the old 
ship he goes along with me — ^that ’s straight. 
Want to go to see Smith, Rhody? Well, 
all right, old boy, I ’ll take it for granted 
that you do, only don’t try to impress it 
upon us with such an infernal din.” 


CHAPTER VI 

IN HONOR OF THE COLORS 

A FEW evenings after Snap’s arrival he 
was lying at length beneath one of the 
spreading maples on the velvety lawn. 
Polly had squatted near him and Rhody was 
curled up in a little round ball close to his 
feet. Just at hand Mrs. Howland sat be- 
side a small wicker- tea-table from which a 
maid had shortly before removed the after- 
noon-tea service. Gail was sitting, a la 
Turk, at her mother’s feet, and not far away 
from Snap sat Constance and her friend 
and neighbor, Carol Barber, of whom we 
have already heard. Carol had stopped en 
route from Annapolis to pay a visit at the 
home of Burton Howard near Philadelphia. 
That class ring worn upon the night of the 
June ball lacked nothing of the usual sig- 
nificance. But Carol does not figure as 
conspicuously in this story as in an earlier 
one. 

The long shadows from the setting sun 


In Honor of tHe Colors 69 

lay in deep green patches upon the vivid 
emerald of the lawn; overhead robins were 
singing their evening song; from the pine- 
wood back of the house the wind wafted 
balsamic odors to the group upon the lawn. 
Peace and the tranquillity of eventide lay 
over the land. Mrs. Howland, with hands 
folded in her lap, sat the personification 
of serenity. Gail was busily employed with 
some fancy work. Carol and Constance 
were bending over the former’s latest ac- 
quisition to her kodak album, for Carol’s 
kodak was the delight of her life. Polly 
was examining, with absorbing interest, an 
inscription upon a beautifully-polished silver 
bugle. Snap had brought it forth from 
among his belongings that afternoon and 
told Polly its pretty story. It was a Span- 
ish bugle and^had belonged to a bugler on 
the ill-fated Crist oh al Colon when she met 
her fate in Santiago Bay. The bugler, a 
mere lad of seventeen, had been rescued and 
brought to the States a prisoner, where he 
died not long after from his injuries. 
Shortly before he died, he gave his beloved 
bugle to a young American Blue Jacket, 
then on duty in the Naval Hospital, and 
for years the beautiful instrument remained 
in the Jackie’s possession. During the pre- 


70 


Captain Polly 


vious summer, when Snap was making his 
First Class Cruise, the Blue Jacket, then a 
man of thirty or more, had become a petty 
officer on board the Olympia, and upon a 
certain occasion Snap had been able to do 
him a good turn. Snap had not attached 
any importance to the act, but John 
Wheelan had, and when ordered to the Far 
East asked Snap to accept as a slight testi- 
mony of his gratitude the little Spanish 
lad’s bugle. Thinking to please Polly, Snap 
had unearthed it and given it to her, and 
Polly was intensely interested in the story. 
The inscription so beautifully engraved 
upon the bugle ran: 

“ Grandes hazanas, entiende 
Que nunca bien les emprende 
El que los peligros mira.” 

The noblest deeds are never wrought 
Bj him who anxiously takes thought 
Of all the dangers run.” 

Snap had translated it for her, and she 
now sat pouring over it, her lively imagina- 
tion drawing all sorts of vivid pictures. 
Presently she raised her eyes and looked 
steadily at Snap. He seemed to be asleep. 
His arms, clasped beneath his head, rested 


In Honor of tHe Colors 71 

upon a grass cushion. How handsome he 
was, thought Polly, as she looked at the 
strong, dark face, with the masterful yet 
sensitive mouth, firm clean-shaven chin, then 
to the big, vigorous body glowing with 
youth and health. Snap’s pose was uncon- 
sciously perfect and displayed every line of 
his figure — the heroic figure of perfect 
physical manhood. 

Polly’s chin dropped into her cupped 
hands as her deep gray eyes rested upon 
this brother-to-be. How dear he had grown 
to her in those few days; how she longed to 
win his approbation; to be worthy to be 
called his Little Captain. Was he really 
asleep now? They had been out on the 
lawn since about four o’clock, and after tea 
was served Snap flung himself at length 
upon the velvety lawn, saying: “At this 
season of the year I like to get close to 
old Mother Earth; to just naturally roll on 
the grass and smell it.” Mrs. Howland 
replied: 

“Roll all you want to, son, but green grass 
is not the best sort of couch for white flan- 
nels. Put this grass pillow beneath your 
arms, that will save your sleeves anyway.” 

“That’s like you, Carissima,” Snap an- 
swered, as he tucked it under his arms and 


7a 


Captain Polly 


let his head fall back upon them. The 
next moment he seemed to have fallen 
asleep, and had not stirred since. How 
softly he breathed; how regularly the great 
chest rose and fell beneath its neglige shirt, 
from which the white flannel sack coat had 
fallen back. Was he really asleep? Again 
the question flashed through Polly’s mind, 
and, as she looked. Snap raised his eyelids 
and smiled at her asking quizzically: 

“Was I asleep. Captain?” 

“ That ’s what I can’t make out for cer- 
tain. You looked so, but I don’t see how 
any one could drop asleep as suddenly as 
all that. Were you really? ” 

“You don’t know what a Midshipman 
can do in the way of dropping off. Captain. 
I ’ve seen men drop down on the deck after 
a long watch, or target practice, and be 
sound asleep before you could get twenty 
feet away from them.” 

“What, right on the hard deck?” cried 
Polly, incredulously. 

“ Right on the hard deck,” repeated Snap. 
“So why should n’t I have been sound asleep 
just now on this downy bed? ” he concluded, 
patting the soft turf near him. 

“ Still I don’t believe you really were,” 
was Polly’s skeptical reply. 


In Honor of tHe Colors 73 

‘‘ Well, I was n’t. I was watching you 
most of the time.” 

‘‘ How could you, when your eyes were 
shut? ” demanded Polly. 

“Are you sure they were shut?” smiled 
Snap. 

Polly bent forward in order to bring her 
face nearer his. “ Shut your eyes that way 
again,” she commanded. Snap complied, 
and his wonderful fringe of long, heavy 
lashes rested almost upon his cheeks. But 
Polly was too close to be deceived this time; 
she detected the faint flash of the eyes be- 
neath and instantly pounced upon Snap. 
Ever so daintly her Angers laid hold of those 
long lashes and lifted the eyelids, she and 
Snap breaking into a laugh which caused the 
others to glance toward them, and Mrs. 
Howland to ask in a tone of mild expostu- 
lation. 

“ Why, Polly, what in this world are you 
trying to do?” 

“ He is trying to fool me and I ’ve caught 
him.” 

“ Yes, exposed all my little cherished sub- 
terfuges; shown me up in my true colors,” 
laughed Snap, then, as though the word 
“ colors ” had recalled something to him, he 
added quickly: “ But let me tell you. Cap- 


74 


Captain Polly 


tain, what I was thinking about as I lay 
there spying upon you. Come close ; I can 
talk snugger when you are near me; yes, 
just that way, so my arm can encircle you,’* 
as Polly gave a little bounce which landed 
her against Snap, who had turned slightly 
upon his left side thus leaving his right arm 
free to slip around her as her back rested 
against him. 

“ Look over there. Captain. The sun will 
soon sink behind the mountains. If I were 
back yonder in Annapolis now ‘ warning 
call ’ for Colors would be sounding, and 
when the sun sets the old flag would be 
lowered to color call. It ’s a great old call, 
Polly. I love it, and for four years I Ve 
hardly missed hearing it. Somehow the day 
seems incomplete for me unless I do, and 
can salute Old Glory as she runs down the 
staff. You know I didn’t often go on 
leave as the other men did ; at first home was 
too far away, and then I didn’t have any 
to go to, honey.” Snap’s arm tightened 
slightly about the little figure and Polly 
bent forward to kiss him as she whispered: 
“ But you have one now^ brother Snap.” 

“ It has n’t taken me three whole days to 
find that out. Captain,” Snap answered 
softly. Then added in his usual tone: 


In Honor of tKe Colors 


75 


‘‘ But I ’d like to hear Colors at sunset just 
the same.” 

''Why can't we?” asked Polly, eagerly. 
“ We Ve got the bugle. Don’t yon know 
how to — to — what do you call it? sound 
them? blow them? play them? ” 

“ Sound them,” said Snap. “ Why, yes, 
I know the call.” 

“ Oh, will you sound it now when the sun 
sets? ” cried Polly, eagerly, her face radiant. 

“ But we have no Colors to lower,” de- 
murred Snap. 

Never mind, I want to hear the call. 
Oh, please do, brother Snap.” 

“ Then we ’d better get busy mighty 
quick,” said Snap, something of Polly’s en- 
thusiasm infecting him. “ Hop up, little 
Captain, old Sol ’s getting out of sight 
mighty fast. We are too late for warning 
call, but I ’ll order the others to attention. 
Beg pardon. Admiral, for interrupting, but 
we ’re about to sound Colors,” he called to 
Constance. 

“Oh, how pretty!” she cried, rising 
hastily to her feet, the others all doing like- 
wise, although they looked a little bewil- 
dered and Gail asked: “What must we 
do?” 

“Watch the Admiral,” answered Snap. 


76 


Captain Polly 


As there was no flag to face, Constance 
turned toward the setting sun, brought her 
heels together, let her arms fall to her sides, 
and raised her face toward the West where 
dearMother Nature had painted in gorgeous 
coloring her own picture of Old Glory. A 
rich crimson sunset with soft white, gilt- 
edged clouds just above, and higher up a 
blue so clear and deep that it was almost 
dazzling in its vividness. Snap stepped in 
front of the little group, each member of 
which had instantly and seriously followed 
Constance’s example, and bringing his heels 
together at attention, raised his head and 
threw the bugle to his lips. His chest 
swelled, and the clear, sweet, silvery notes 
of the bugle floated out upon the tranquil 
evening air. It was a fine instrument, with 
a singularly haunting quality in its song, 
and Snap, who loved this call, blew it with 
exquisite sympathy. The long, thrilling 
notes floated up to the mountain, were 
caught in some of its rocky clefts, held 
caressingly for a moment, and then flung 
back in an echo which floated far out over 
Lake Caprice to die away in ever-fainting 
notes. It was a wonderfully impressive 
scene, and Mrs. Howland’s handkerchief 
stole furtively to her eyes as she stood just 


In Honor of tKe Colors 


77 


behind the others. Constance’s eyes never 
for a moment left the face of this man whom 
she so loved and honored, and who in such 
a very little while must be divided from her 
by the breadth of the world. Carol’s 
thoughts rushed back to the last time she 
had heard that call in Annapolis. Gail’s 
were all of conjecture as to whether she 
would ever hear it down there. Polly’s 
face was transfigured by it, and for the first 
time the thrill of pure patriotism caused a 
little creeping shiver to run down her spine 
and into her soul flashed the true meaning 
of the flag which Snap had sworn to serve. 

But there was one other individual upon 
whom this bugle call made an impression 
which shaped all his future life. Just as 
Snap blew the first sweet notes, Ralph turned 
into the gate. The group upon the lawn 
was facing the opposite direction and was 
unaware of his arrival. Intuitively Ralph 
halted and stood at attention some distance 
from them. 

As the last note died away, Snap lowered 
his bugle and turned toward those standing 
behind him. His face wore an expression 
which only Constance fully comprehended. 
In turning he caught sight of Ralph and 
saluted. The boy gave an answering salute 


78 Captain Polly 

and then rushed pell-mell toward him cry- 
ing eagerly: 

“ Oh, Mr. Hunter, what is it ? What does 
it mean? It’s just splendid! I did just 
like the others were doing and it — it — why 
it made me all creepy up and down my spine 
bone. Honest it did — I can feel it yet. Do 
they play that music down in Annapolis? 
Gee, but I want to go there! Do you know 
all about it, Polly?” 

For a moment Snap’s lips parted in a 
smile which displayed his faultless teeth, for 
Ralph’s manner and words held all a boy’s 
keen enthusiasm. Then growing serious, he 
said: 

“ Will you two sit here beside me and 
listen to something I want to tell you? ” 

“You bet! Course we will!” was the 
prompt reply in duet. 

Snap dropped down upon the grass once 
more, this time with his back against the 
tree. Ralph squatted before him, his face 
eager for what would follow; Polly again 
snuggled beside him. 

“ I ’m not much on lectures, and I ’ve al- 
ways hated and kicked against them like the 
dickens when I thought some one was try- 
ing to hand me out a moral speil, but since 
I ’ve got away from down yonder I ’ve be- 


In Honor of tHe Colors 


79 


gun to wake up to what it was all about; 
something more than a daily routine inter- 
spersed with a blowing up and hitting the 
pap 

" What is that asked Ralph, and not 
without reason. Snap laughed. 

“ Naval Academy slang for getting 
ragged; being put on the report for doing 
something we ’d no business to do ; a cuss- 
ing out. I Ve only been away from there 
a week, but sometimes it seems like a year, 
and upon my word there have been moments 
when I ’ve wished I could begin it all over 
again; could hear reveille each morning, 
mess-call, colors, and taps. We used to 
kick against taps like blazes sometimes, 
but well — ^they are all wonderful every one 
of them, and they are sounding each hour 
of the whole twenty-four in some part of 
the world, do you realize that? There is n’t 
an hour on this big globe which does n’t 
witness the sun either rising or setting; not 
a place in it where reveille is not waking up 
men in the service, or taps somewhere singing 
softly: “ Go-to-sleep, Go-to-sleep.” Maybe 
it is just turning in, or perhaps it is the long, 
long sleep, but taps is always the bedtime 
song, and if it is not sounding here it surely 
is somewhere else. Wherever Old Glory is 


8o 


Captain Polly 


waving, a bugle is sounding some call. It 
is the sunset call — Colors — ^here, but on the 
other side of the world it is reveille; some- 
where else it is the hour for taps ; somewhere 
else mess-call. You never thought about 
that, did you? Well neither did I till 
lately, but I Ve been doing a heap of think- 
ing within a few days, and I want to set 
Ralph thinking too before I leave here. 
Just hard enough to make him want to 
hump himself lively for those entrance ex- 
ams about two years from now, and to 
realize when he passes them ” 

“ If I do? ” interrupted Ralph. 

“Now, see here!” exclaimed Snap, sud- 
denly sitting up, and into his eyes sprang a 
flash of light which caused Ralph to in- 
stinctively draw back, and gather an ink- 
ling of another side of the nature of the 
man speaking to him. It passed in a mo- 
ment, and Ralph half wondered if it had 
really ever been there, so quickly did the 
old frank smile return. Nevertheless, Snap 
had noticed his start, and felt it to be rather 
wholesome than otherwise. 

“ Son, you want to cut all that out. 
You ’ll enter. Do you understand? And 
if you don’t Polly is going to, if I have to 
cut off her curls and pass her off as my 


In Honor of tHe Colors 


8l 


brother. Hard job when it comes to a 
family resemblance, maybe, but — well — 
take your choice. If you fail us ” 

Snap left his sentence unfinished. • 

“ If he fails, I ’ll never speak another word 
to him as long as I live and breathe,” was 
Polly’s ultimatum. 

“ I ’m not going to fail, only I don’t see 
any use of being too cock-sure. I^m no 
such wonder that I can do more than a lot 
of other fellows.” 

“Maybe you ain’t, but I guess you can 
do as much, and if you can’t, — well I don’t 
want you for my friend, and I won’t have 
you, so there now. But go on, please, 
brother Snap. Tell us some more about 
the flag.” 

“ There is n’t much more to tell, honey, 
only I do wish we had one here, and I ’d 
teach you and Ralph the calls, and we would 
raise the old flag each morning and lower 
it at sunset, though I don’t see what we ’d 
raise it on unless we rigged a tackle to the 
chimney, and that would be a far cry from 
a flag-staff, would n’t it? ” 

At this juncture Polly scrambled to her 
feet and rushed to her mother. Flinging 
her arms about her, she cried: 

“ Munsey, Munsey, may we have one? 


82 Captain Polly 

May we, so brother Snap can teach us the 
calls? ” 

Before Mrs. Howland could reply, Snap 
interrupted. 

“ Polly, you Ve got the brains of the 
whole bunch and I ’m just a wooden figure- 
head. Carissima, may I have two square 
feet of ground on your property? Back 
yonder on the terrace if you don’t mind? ” 

“ Unto the half of my kingdom, son,’’ 
answered Mrs. Howland. 

“ Oh, what are you going to do ? ” cried 
Polly. 

“ Tell you to-morrow. Got to have a 
little private pow-wow with Carissima first.” 

“Ah, tell us now — do!” begged Ralph, 
both he and Polly swarming upon Snap. 
He looked at them as though he found it 
hard to resist their appeal, but at that mo- 
ment a maid approached to announce dinner 
and he said : 

“Can’t now anyway. No, you’ve both 
got to wait until to-morrow.” 

“Will you dine with us, Ralph?” asked 
Mrs. Howland hospitably. 

“ I ’m afraid mother won’t know where 
I am and will wait for me,” demurred 
Ralph. “I told her I was off duty from four 
this afternoon and wanted to come up here, 


In Honor of tKe Colors 


83 


but she expects me home for supper I 
know.” The eager note in his voice settled 
the question. 

“We ’ll phone down to her. Then di- 
rectly after dinner Snap and I will have a 
few minutes’ private talk.” 

“ And we ’ll know to-night! We ’ll know 
to-night! ” screamed Polly, dancing up and 
down in her eagerness. 


CHAPTER VII 


LAYING PLANS 

That closeted talk with Mrs. Howland 
was a brief one. In a few words Snap ex- 
plained his wish, and it is needless to add 
that it met with her instant approval. Yes, 
more than mere approval, her enthusiastic 
support, for in it she saw a rare opportunity 
to aid and encourage Ralph and inspire in 
Polly all the enthusiasm for her country and 
its flag which she felt to be a part of every 
girl’s or woman’s duty to them. As she 
and Snap came from the library. Snap’s 
arm laid caressingly across her shoulder, 
they saw Polly and Ralph squatting upon 
the stairs, their ears alert for the first creak 
of the opening door. Before they could 
cross the threshold both the boy and girl 
were upon them. Snap reached out his 
free arm and laying hold of Ralph’s 
coat-collar lifted him straight up, saying: 
‘‘ You ’ve got to grow so-o-o big/^ 

“ Gee, but you ’re strong! ” cried Ralph. 

84 


Laying Plans 


85 


“ When I get back next February I want 
you to weigh more than you do now, and 
it won’t be so easy for me to lift you. But 
come on outdoors ; I ’ll tell you both the 
secret now.” 

“ Oh, quick, quick, quick! I can't wait 
any longer 1 ” cried Polly. 

A moment later they were on the piazza. 

- “ Carissima has given me a place up 
yonder on the terrace, and we are to set up 
a genuine flag-staff, lower-mast, top-mast, 
with top at the doubling of the masts, and 
all, just like the flag-staff down at Anna- 
polis, only not so big, of course. It is to 
be my little souvenir and we are to have 
a fine flag, a real genuine one ; I ’ll write for 
it to-night. Then we will have some les- 
sons in bugle calls. Run and get the bugle, 
Polly, and we’ll begin right now; Ralph 
first, because he will have to hike for home 
pretty quick.” 

For the next half hour there were some 
weird sounds proceeding from the How- 
lands’ piazza, for blowing a bugle is an art 
to be acquired by practice only, and often 
long practice too. Ralph filled his lungs 
and puffed manfully, but his most heroic 
efforts resulted only in wails which sug- 
gested a soul in torment. Somehow Polly 


86 


Captain Polly 


caught the knack a little easier and Tier 
efforts were rewarded by a few musical, if 
feeble notes. 

“ Now don’t you two get discouraged at 
your first try, for you ’ll catch on sooner 
than you think, and I ’ll bet my shoe that 
by the time I hit my ship you and Polly 
will both be able to give a fairly good 
rendering.” 

And sure enough. Snap’s words were 
prophetic. In the course of the next week 
the flag-staff was ready to be placed in posi- 
tion, the flag had arrived from the city, and 
a day was set for raising the staff and run- 
ning up Old Glory. It was a red-letter 
day in Polly’s life, for Snap, to please her 
and Ralph, brought forth his full-dress uni- 
form and donned it for the occasion, feeling 
more foolish than any one guessed, for he 
hated display of any kind and had all a 
man’s aversion to making what he considered 
an exhibition of himself. 

Several of Polly’s friends were invited 
and four o’clock was the hour named for 
the ceremony. It was far prettier than 
Snap guessed and destined to be more far- 
reaching in its influence than he dreamed. 
With all his inborn power to command, and 
his four-years’ training he gave his orders 



FROM THAT HOUR RALPH AND POLLY WERE CUSTODIANS OF 

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Laying Plans 


87 


in clear, sharp, decisive tones which the men 
instantly obeyed with a promptitude that 
surprised even themselves, and in no time 
the flag-staff was in place. Then came the 
raising of the colors. Snap wanted Ralph 
or Polly to sound the call, but neither yet 
felt sufficiently skilful or sure of the tricks 
the bugle might play. So Snap, handsome, 
masterful, splendidly set up, blew the 
beautiful call, as Ralph and Polly ran the 
flag hand-over-hand to the truck. Then all 
joined in singing ‘‘ The Star-Spangled 
Banner ” as the beautiful Stars and Stripes 
floated out over their heads, the emblem of 
the country they loved, and that Snap was 
sworn to serve. From that hour Ralph and 
Polly were custodians of the flag, and faith- 
ful little ones they proved. 

True, Ralph could not always be on hand 
for reveille, but Polly could and was, and 
under Snap’s instruction soon became a re- 
markable little bugler. Ralph’s duties at 
the W. U. T. office made it harder for him 
to get time to learn, or to be on hand, but, 
thanks to Snap, Ralph’s hours were short- 
ened and he never failed to appear for 
“ Colors,” which were now sounded at six 
o’clock. True, the sun did not really set 
until after seven, but “ the official hour ’’ 


88 


Captain Polly 


was six^ so said the Admiral, and the 
Admiral’s word stood. 

Another link which bound Snap closer to 
the children, and added to their patriotism 
was a happy thought which popped into his 
head the very night he wrote for the flag, 
and the following morning he acted upon 
it with his usual promptness. He took 
Ralph and Polly to a tailor in town and 
had them carefully measured, giving the 
man the most minute instructions and select- 
ing the materials himself. As the outcome 
of those measurements, there arrived the day 
before the flag raising a mysterious box. 
When it was opened in their presence it 
was found to contain two wonderful suits 
for each. Polly’s was a navy-blue serge 
and a white linen duck, sailor suit, or per- 
haps a midshipman’s suit would be more 
correct, for it was as near the midshipman’s 
service and working suits as a girl’s garment 
could be made, and pretty enough she looked 
in either the “ white works,” or “ blue serv- 
ice.” And it will be well to state right here 
that Polly Howland’s suits were not on the 
order of those commonly sold in the shops 
as “ midshipman’s jumper suits.” Not by 
any means ! What the average public does 
not know about midshipman’s uniforms, 


Laying Flans 


89 


and, indeed, midshipmen in general, would 
fill a good fat volume, and I ’d like to add, 
incidentally, that this ignorance concerning 
our service is a disgrace to the country. In 
no other on the face of the globe is there 
so little knowledge of the branches of the 
Service and everything pertaining to it dis- 
played, or such utter indifference, and it is 
an insult to the flag which protects us. 
Polly’s blue service was the regulation navy- 
blue serge, the skirt a kilt, the jacket cut on 
the straight up and down lines of the mid- 
shipman’s service blouse with its standing 
braid collar with anchors at either side. As 
Polly was supposed to be in command for 
the time being. Snap had insisted upon the 
“ Three Stripes,” three gold bands, and star 
upon the sleeves. In the Academy this is 
the insignia of the rank of a Cadet Lieu- 
tenant, one of the twelve commanders of the 
companies. So Snap decided that Polly, as 
commander of this little company, was en- 
titled to wear them. Ralph’s suit was ex- 
actly the same, with the exception of the 
stripes upon his sleeve ; his boasted but two. 
Ralph was the Junior Lieutenant. 

The white ‘‘ working suits ” were of heavy 
duck, and did not have the blue collars as 
those sold in the shops have. The ordinary 


90 


Captain Polly 


civilian has yet to learn that jumpers with 
blue collars are worn by the jackies only, 
and that a midshipman, or, in other words, 
the young officer who is still an under- 
graduate at the Academy, wears a pure white 
jumper with a black silk neckerchief knotted 
about his neck. 

Ralph and Polly were thrown into a rap- 
ture bordering upon delirium when those 
suits were tried on, and it was well they 
arrived late one Saturday afternoon or the 
W. U. T. service might have suffered the 
loss of a messenger boy. They were first 
publicly aired at the raising of colors, and 
a bonny little pair the girl and boy were in 
the regulation “ blues.” The curiosity they 
excited and the questions which they elicited 
bid fair to banish from Montgentian, at 
least, some of the fog of ignorance which 
enveloped it regarding this particular 
branch of the Service, and Polly secretly 
confided to Ralph that she had made up 
her mind to be “ put wise ” regarding a 
few points before brother Snap left Mont- 
gentian. 

‘‘ Why, do you know, Ralph Wilbur, that 
we just don’t know anything she de- 
manded with considerable spirit. 

“ Sure thing. We ’re just green ” 


Laying Plans 91 

“Wooden,” instantly corrected Polly. 
“ That is what Snap would say.” 

“ Well, ‘ wooden,’ then. I mean to 
find out some things too, for when I 
go in — enter,” he promptly corrected, — 
“ I don’t mean to be quite a fool if I 
can help it. Gee, but this is a big day, 
is n’t it? ” 

“ Biggest ever,” assented Polly, and the 
next moment refreshments were being served 
as the merry party sat upon the lawn with 
the flag floating overhead. 

Those three June weeks were the shortest 
Snap had ever known, as well as the happiest. 
To Polly they were one continuous high- 
day and holiday, for having once crept into 
Snap’s heart she stayed there and each day 
she nestled closer. In this home Snap 
found all the rounding out of a rather lonely 
life. 

A few days after the decision regarding 
Rhody, Snap, escorted by Constance and 
Polly, had called upon Mrs. Wilbur, and 
the result of that call changed the whole 
course of Ralph’s life. 

Other calls followed, and before the day 
of Snap’s departure arrived it was fully de- 
cided that Ralph should enter the United 
States Navy at seventeen, if the combined 


92 


Captain Polly 


efforts of Snap’s advice and influence, Mrs. 
Wilbur’s co-operation and guidance, and 
Ralph’s wits and weight when the time ar- 
rived to take his entrance examination, could 
compass that end. 

The day before he left Montgentian, 
Snap said to Polly: 

“ Captain, will you come for a little stroll 
with me? I ’ve one or two things on my 
mind I ’d like to shift to yours. Maybe 
you ’ll call it a mean trick, though I hardly 
think so because you ’re game. Constance 
has gone down to do the marketing and will 
be away a full hour. When she comes back 
I want her^ honey, and nobody else. Do 
you understand? ” 

Polly nodded, and slipped her arms about 
him as he sat upon the piazza after break- 
fast. The other members of the family were 
engaged with their various household duties. 
She was never far from this big “ brother ” 
if she could contrive to be near him, and 
his response was warm. Now she leaned her 
curly crown against his dark one, but did 
not speak. Somehow she couldn’t. The 
parting was too near, and whenever she 
thought of the morrow and the days which 
would follow for eight long, long months 
without a glimpse of the one whom she had 


La^in^ Plans 


93 


learned to love so dearly, her throat filled 
and she had to wink hard. 

“ Shall we start right now. Captain? ” 
asked Snap, pressing the soft face even 
closer to his. 

“ Yes,” was all Polly could answer, and 
Snap rose to his feet, giving a quick, pity- 
ing glance at the little figure his up- 
rising had disturbed, but saying nothing. 
His throat quivered strangely too, and 
there was a curious burning back of his 
eyes. 

They struck into a pretty wood path 
which led from the rear of the house. Such 
a rare June day as it was! A mad melody 
of song welcomed them to the cool, delicious 
woods. About half a mile up the hill 
Snap paused in a grove of white pine trees 
which whispered mysteriously, and through 
which a wonderful woodland vista opened, 
revealing the valley below. 

A forest patriarch which had long since 
succumbed to its venerable age lay upon the 
ground, and, seating himself upon it, he 
drew Polly to his side. 

“ Let ’s have this picture for our memory 
one, honey,” he said. “ I used to know 
something about ‘ memory pictures ’ and 
‘ the one of a dim old forest.’ This might 


94 


Captain Polly 


be the very place, don’t you think so ? I ’ll 
like to think about it anyway when I ’m 
out there at the back of beyond and nothing 
but leagues and leagues of water all around 
me. I ’ll have a good many memory pic- 
tures, Polly, but there won’t be any dearer 
than those of the little girl who first wel- 
comed me here and promised to stand by 
me if necessary. I shall often think of my 
little Captain. Write to me, Polly, and tell 


But Snap got no farther, for at that in- 
stant Polly flung herself into his arms sob- 
bing as though her heart would break. For 
a moment Snap was astonished. He had 
not suspected the intensity of Polly’s love 
for him, or how entirely she had claimed 
him as one of her home circle. Then 
drawing her upon his knees and into his 
encircling embrace he said: 

“My little Captain! My little Captain, 
is brother Snap so dear to you as this? 
Don’t sob so bitterly, honey, for the eight 
months will pass more quickly than you 
believe.” 

But Snap’s own voice quivered slightly 
and his eyes were dimmed. He was 
strangely stirred by the affection given him 
so freely by this little girl and the family 


Laying Plans 95 

to which he had been only a name three 
weeks before. 

‘‘ Eight — eight months are almost a year/’ 
was the stifled reply from his shoulder 
where Polly’s head was hidden. 

For a moment Snap was silent as he took 
a rapid survey of the past years and realized 
how interminable eight months had once 
seemed to him. Would they ever seem so 
long again? Were those to which he was 
looking forward likely to seem longer than 
any he had ever yet known? He had often 
felt misgivings regarding them of late, es- 
pecially during these three weeks of ideal 
home life. But he must remember that 
duty stood paramount to all else. Other- 
wise of what avail the past four years of 
discipline and training to fit him for the 
Service? What sort of an example would 
he set for Ralph and — yes, for Polly, if he 
failed to meet its first demand upon him? 
Drawing his handkerchief from his pocket, 
he said very gently: 

“Little Captain, raise your head? There,” 
as Polly looked up at him through her 
swimming eyes, “ let me wipe away all those 
tears. They are more precious to me than 
you can guess, honey, because they prove, as 
nothing else could, how much you love and 


96 


Captain Polly 


will miss me, but we must not give way to 
them now. We may not have another hour 
like this in which to be together, and I want 
to talk to you while we can talk alone, be- 
cause I have a great trust to impose in you. 
Captain.” 

“ In me? ” interjected Polly. 

“ Yes, in you. Captain. I Ve been doing 
a lot of thinking and observing since I Ve 
been here, and I Ve come to some conclusions 
it would be pretty hard to shake. Will you 
listen to a few of them? ” 

‘"Every single one I” exclaimed Polly 
eagerly. 

“ Good I Well, here are a few of them: 
Carissima down yonder is a tiny little 
mother, isn’t she? Neither big nor strong 
enough to buck up against some of the hard 
things of this world. Constance is worth a 
dozen of most girls and will be equal to 
a dozen in most cases. Gail is just like 
breeze and sunshine, but Gail is too young 
to take things in hand yet; she must finish 
school and do a heap of things girls of her 
age have to do. You, Captain, are only 
twelve years old, I know, but if I ’m not 
very much mistaken you’ve got grit and 
will enough to carry you plumb to the finish 
if you set out to do a thing.” Polly glowed 


Laying Flans 


97 


with pride, but Snap did not seem aware of 
the impression his words were making. 
“ Yes,” he continued, “ you ’re all to the 
good, little Captain, and that ’s exactly the 
reason I asked you to come up here. If I 
could do just as I have a mind to, I ’d stop 
right here and look out for you all, be- 
cause that is what a man is made for, but 
a man in the Service has got to go wherever 
he is ordered and do exactly what he is told 
to do, and if he can’t do it with a good grace 
he ’d better ‘ pack his little grip and fade 
away’ mighty quick. To-morrow, Polly- 
kins, will be one of the hardest days I ’ll 
ever live through, — no need to deny that, — 
but I ’ve got to live through it and do it 
like a man. I want you all to be proud, 
not ashamed of me. But I want you, 
honey, to help me — ^yes, I mean that, be- 
cause you can, more than you guess. In the 
first place, I want you to look after Caris- 
sima; to make that your very first duty. 
Try to think of the things I ’d do if I were 
here ” 

“I know! I know!” broke in Polly. 
“ You always get up when she comes into 
the room, and you always have a chair 
ready for her, and you see that she is n’t in 
a draught, and you pick up her handkerchief 


98 


Captain Pollx 


if she lets it fall, and you hand her her cup 
of tea, and if she goes down the porch steps 
you always take her arm, and you have a 
sofa pillow ready to put back of her chair, 
and — and — your eyes look love into her eyes 
whenever you speak to her, and ” 

“Honey! Honey! Stop! Those little 
acts are just nothing, they 

“ Mother says they are just everything, 
and she knows,” persisted Polly. “ She 
said the other night that she wondered what 
she was that this great gift and joy should 
be hers, and mother never says such things 
unless she feels them. She loves you, 
brother Snap.” 

“ Thank God she does,” breathed Snap, 
softly. “ But what I mean would be very 
different things from those you have named. 
I mean that she will be worried sometimes 
and she is not very strong, then you can 
help her by not bothering her about little 
things. Sort of dope them out for your- 
self, you know. And I want you to write 
me about her sometimes. I ’ll be glad of 
your view-point of things here. Then there 
is another thing you can do for me. I ’m 
mighty interested in Ralph, and I want to 
see him make good. Mrs. Wilbur told me 
you are giving him a run for his money in 


Laying Flans 


99 


school, that you are only two years behind 
him and in a fair way to overhaul him if 
he does n’t keep his eye piped. Now, 
Ralph ’s all right, Captain, and he is going 
to make a man some day, only he has been 
handicapped. Since his father’s death he 
has had to hustle too hard, and so has his 
mother, and neither is built on the hustling 
plan. His mother has got will enough, but 
will, unfortunately, does n’t supply physical 
backbone, although it may supply moral. 
Ralph has wits and will, but he’s such a 
little spindly shaver that he can’t keep up 
the pressure necessary. If he gets played 
out and discouraged the jig will be up, and 
there ’s only one person who is going to help 
him in such a crisis.” 

“ Who ’s that? ” asked Polly eagerly. 

“ Can’t you guess? ” 

“Do you mean Mr. Stone?” asked 
Polly, naming the principal of the High 
School. Snap had called upon him and put 
before him his plans for Ralph. 

“No, I mean youf^ 

“Me !” cried Polly, incredulously. “Why, 
I can’t do a thing with Ralph.” 

“ You can do a heap more than you guess, 
little sister. Listen here. Ralph is your 
good chum and crony. You ’ve grown up 


100 


Captain Polly 


together from little children, and he thinks 
a lot of you and admires you. Now you 
know as well as I do that we want to be 
like the people we admire, and so it natu- 
rally follows that Ralph wishes to be like 


“ But I ’m only a girl,” was Polly’s rather 
uncomplimentary insinuation for her sex. 

“Connie is only a girl, but she can do a few 
things with me, Polly, that no one else on 
earth can.” 

Polly looked off through the green vista. 
Here, indeed, was subject for thought: a 
new phase in the relation of Snap and Con- 
stance had been presented to her, and her 
clear little brain absorbed it instantly. 
Turning to Snap, she said earnestly: 

“ Tell me what to do and I ’ll do it.” 

“ It is hard to tell that, Pollykins. Cir- 
cumstances must decide, but I believe you ’ll 
prove the best possible pilot for Ralph dur- 
ing the coming two years. He will be fif- 
teen in September; you will be thirteen in 
August. If all goes well he ought to 
graduate from High School before he is 
seventeen, and then come prep work and 
entrance exams. He ought to enter the 
Academy in September of that year. But 
a heap of hard work lies ahead, and he must 


Laying Plans 


loi 


understand that. By-the-way, you have 
competitive exams here unless I ’m much 
mistaken. There’s Ralph’s chance! He 
could enter on that. Fire his ambition, 
Polly, spur him on! Who knows but you 
may be the making of the finest admiral 
the old flag ever waved over. Big under- 
taking and serious responsibility, but Old 
Glory is worthy of our best, God bless it! ” 
and involuntarily Snap brought his hand to 
salute. Polly’s eyes sparkled. 

“I’ll do it! I’ll do everything in this 
world I can to help ! Ralph and I ’ll work 
like a house-a-fire, and we ’ll enter the 
Service! You see if we don’t!” 

“ I don’t doubt it. He literally, you 
figuratively, but not the less actually. But 
now we must go back, for the hour is 
ended,” concluded Snap, glancing at his 
watch. “ Come little sister, my little Cap- 
tain, I think we understand each other,” and 
Snap rose to his feet. Polly did likewise, 
but just as they were about to start she 
flung her arms about him, crying, with a 
sob in her voice: 

“ Oh, if only you didn’t have to go! If 
you only didn’t! Japan and India are so 
far off! It seems as if I ’d only just got 
you to let you go ! ” 


102 


Captain Polly 


“ I may go out of your sight, dear, but 
never out of your mind, any more than you 
and all who have grown so dear to me will 
go out of mine. Be brave, little Captain, 
and the time will pass quicker than you 
dream it can.” 

It was a very tender caress that Snap 
gave the little girl, and then hand in hand 
they went down the hill. 

Twenty-four hours later he had left them, 
and what that leave-taking meant can only 
be grasped by those whose lives are spent 
in the Service, where those dearest to us are 
with us to-day and divided by hundreds of 
miles on the morrow. To the one who sails 
away to new scenes and new experiences 
there is very little time left in which to dwell 
upon the parting. Thought, mind, and 
energies must be given to the duty of the 
hour. Only in the long silent watches, or 
the hours off duty, does he find time to 
think. It is for those left behind to realize 
what the long separations mean, and the 
bitterness and the tragedy of some of them 
will forever remain unknown. 


CHAPTER VIII 


WHEN OCTOBER CAME 

Those three months were long ones for 
Constance and Polly. To the former they 
were filled with a sense of loneliness the 
world little guessed, for Constance was not 
the type of girl who wore her heart upon 
her sleeve, but her love for Snap lay far 
deeper than any one realized, imless it was 
little Polly. Polly had always been “ Con- 
stance’s girl ” in the family, and for some 
of the strange reasons which often govern 
family relations, Polly and Constance were 
closer to each other than Gail and Con- 
stance had ever been, notwithstanding the 
difference in their ages. As Snap had said, 
“ Nine years are not so very many if you 
say them quickly,” so perhaps eight may be 
reckoned in the same manner. At all 
events, it was Polly who had crept closest 
into Snap’s heart during his three weeks’ 
visit in his home; Polly who, next to Con- 
stance, he loved to have with him, and many 
a happy stroll and chummy little pow-wow 

103 


104 Captain Polly- 

had the man and little girl enjoyed to- 
gether. And Polly had shown herself won- 
derfully tactful. Never had she intruded 
when she felt the time or the hour to be 
wholly Snap’s and Constance’s; never had 
she forced her presence upon Snap if she 
instinctively felt that the man was fighting 
the fierce battle of self-control against the 
coming separation, for it was harder for 
Snap than any one but Constance and 
Polly dreamed. Perhaps this was the rea- 
son Polly was the one to carry a dainty 
little luncheon up to Constance the day 
Snap left them. They bade him good-bye 
indoors and then followed him out upon 
the piazza. Constance, brave and smiling, 
bade him God-speed as he held her in his 
arms. When the carriage which bore him 
away turned into the road, and was hidden 
from sight by the vines upon the porch, she 
turned to find her mother’s arms awaiting 
her. For one moment she rested in them 
and then said : 

“ Let me go to my room, dear, for I 
must fight it out alone. It is the first, but 
it will not be the last time, you know, and 
they will all be so hard, and you will not 
always be near me. Forgive me if I seem 
selfish, but I can’t stay with you all now.” 


WHen October Came 105 

“My little girl! My little girl!” said 
Mrs. Howland, as she released her, and Con- 
stance hurried away to her room. What 
took place there in the ensuing three hours 
only the Great Eye witnessed, the Great 
Heart ever knew. Such hours are not to 
be lightly looked upon. But “ a little child 
shall lead them,” we are told; how, or by 
what means we of human limitations may 
not understand, but the lesson is never lack- 
ing. If during those three hours little Polly 
nearly sobbed her heart out up in the white 
pine wood, her arms upon the log where 
Snap had sat, her face buried in them, she 
never told any one, not even Constance, but 
when twelve o’clock drew nigh, she gathered 
her little self together, wiped her eyes, and 
sat up, looking off through the beautiful 
woodland vista, but seeing nothing of it, 
so filled were her thoughts by Snap and 
their talk the precious afternoon. Perhaps 
fifteen minutes passed, then she began a 
little monologue heard only by the hermit- 
thrushes and the gray squirrels watching her 
from the boughs overhead. 

“ Yes, it was every word true, and I Ve 
got to dope it out for myself. Mother 
feels terribly, terribly, for she loves brother 
Snap dearly. Gail likes him too, but not 


io6 Captain Polly 

the same way, and Connie’s heart is almost 
broken. I never knew her feel like this in 
all my life. And I — oh, I don't want to 
wait eight whole months, I don’t, I don’t! 
Brother Snap I want you to-day, to-morrow, 
and every day. I want you right now this 
very minute, for I love you so, I do, I 
do! ” and once more the little head fell upon 
the log. Then Polly began to reproach her- 
self : ‘‘ Polly Howland, get up and go home 
this minute! Captain Polly! A pretty 
Captain you are and the Admiral in distress ! 
Go home and do something for her!” and 
with this self-invective Polly sprang to her 
feet, hastily dried her tears and set off down 
the hill at a pace which defied any possi- 
bility of a lapse from her self-imposed duty. 
Half an hour later she was serving Con- 
stance’s luncheon, for, brave as the girl had 
been, nature demanded and received the 
heart-tribute which all who live and feel 
most deeply must pay. Constance never 
forgot that little act of devotion, and the 
first letter which Snap received told him the 
pretty story of Polly’s love and forgetful- 
ness of self; of her loyalty to him and her 
pride in living up to the name he had given 
her. 

July, August, and September slipped by. 


WKen October Came 107 

and when October 1st came, Polly, now thir- 
teen years old, had entered high school. 
Ralph had entered two years before, for, if 
slight and physically undeveloped, Ralph’s 
mind was keen and he could do good work. 
It had secretly been a source of mortifica- 
tion to Polly that she could not enter high 
school when Ralph did, hut two years’ dif- 
ference in age mean a good deal at eleven 
and thirteen. Ralph was just a little past 
thirteen when he entered, and Polly had 
fully made up her mind to be not one single 
day older when she entered. She had said 
very little about it, but, working steadily, 
had, as Snap expressed it, given Ralph a 
good run for his money. This year Ralph, 
it is true, would be a Junior, and Polly a 
little Freshman, but from time immemorial 
Juniors and Freshmen have fraternized 
more freely than Sophomores and Fresh- 
men, between whom there seems to exist a 
traditional feud. If Ralph was a little in- 
clined to be patronizing, he right speedily 
had “ a fall taken out of him,” to use a bit 
of school slang, for very shortly after 
Polly’s entrance an incident transpired 
which brought to pass a radically new order 
of things. That Polly should be the one 
elected by fate to readjust matters and 


io8 Captain Polly 

infuse into high-school life a healthier condi- 
tion of things, Polly herself would have been 
the very last one to believe it possible. Yet 
such was the case, and Captain Polly fell 
naturally and simply into the command. 

Montgentian High School had not been 
in existence very long. Indeed, the build- 
ing had been completed within the past five 
years, and, so far as the building was con- 
cerned, was a most model, up-to-date affair 
in every way. It was the only high school 
within a radius of five miles, for none of the 
adjacent towns, or perhaps I should say 
outlying districts of Montgentian, boasted 
a high school at all, and as a result the 
grammar-school pupils from all directions 
flocked into Montgentian. 

Polly had, of course, attended the Mont- 
gentian grammar school, and when she grad- 
uated in June many of her friends had 
graduated with her and now entered the 
high. Polly had always been very popular 
in grammar school, and this popularity fol- 
lowed her into the high school. Conse- 
quently, a few days after entering and as 
she was walking home one afternoon with 
a group of her friends, boys and girls among 
them, Ralph in the group, for Ralph, even 
though a Junior, was still very loyal to Polly 


\SrHen October Came 


109 


and did not permit class “ rates ” to in- 
fluence his attitude toward her, a girl from 
the Junior class came hurrying after them 
calling : 

“Oh, Miss Howland! Miss Howland, 
wait just a minute, do! I want to speak 
to you about something so important.’’ 

For a moment Polly paid no attention to 
the hail, for she had never yet been called 
“ Miss Howland,” and somehow had un- 
consciously accepted her mother’s idea that 
Constance, her eldest sister, was the only 
“ Miss ” Howland in the family, and that 
the younger sisters would have no legitimate 
claim to that title until Constance married; 
an old-fashioned notion, perhaps, but rather 
a wholesome one after all. So it required a 
second hail before she turned in response 
and asked : 

“ Oh, are you calling me, Agnes? ” quite 
oblivious of a slight frown upon that young 
lady’s face at the rather familiar “ Agnes.” 
Yet why not Agnes? Polly had known her 
all her life, and, until this high-school dig- 
nity enveloped her, Agnes had romped and 
played with Polly and been the best of 
chums. 

“ Why, of course, who else did you think, 
little silly? ” 


110 


Captain Polly 


The gray eyes narrowed slightly. A bad 
beginning had been made. Then Polly re- 
plied quite imperturbably: 

“ Why, Connie, or Gail, of course. I ’m 
a far cry from Miss Howland yet, don’t you 
know that? ” 

“ You are Miss Howland from the very 
moment you enter high school, my dear 
child; don’t forget that important fact, — 
just as I am Miss Simpson.” 

“ You are welcome to be the old maid of 
your family if you want to; you’ve just 
claim to the honor, but I have nH, for 
Connie ’s only twenty, and already engaged ; 
so she ^s safe you see, and Gail ’s not likely 
to put on blue spectacles for a little while 
I reckon,” laughed Polly. “ Besides,” she 
continued, “ I hate to be called Miss How- 
land, especially by people I ’ve known all 
my life! It sounds so silly and affected! 
But what did you want of me — well, what 
shall I call you? Do you want me to do 
the high and mighty act and call you Miss 
Simpson in future?” 

“ You are perfectly incorrigible! No, of 
course not! Call me Agnes just the same as 
ever, but I thought that right out here in 
public and with all these people around you, 
and such an important matter pending, it 


W^Hen October Came 


III 


would sound much more dignified to call 
you Miss Howland, you see. But, of 
course, you can be simple Polly to the end 
of the story if you prefer.” 

Polly was fully aware of the intentional 
sting in the use of the adjective but gave no 
indication of the fact. 

“ All right, I ’ll be simple Polly and you 
can be silly Agnes. Is it a bargain? I ’m 
sure I ’m willing if you are,” and Polly 
broke into a merry laugh quite free from 
malice, for the whole thing struck her as 
irresistibly funny. In some respects Polly 
was still very much the little girl, but in 
others far saner and wiser than the affected 
little “ Miss Simpson,” who was only two 
years her senior, but whose wits were no 
match for Polly’s, and who could never 
attain to her plane of straight-forward 
directness. 

The group was strolling along very lei- 
surely, most of them listening to the banter- 
ing words of the two girls. Presently they 
reached a corner where their ways divided 
and Agnes said: 

“ Well, your curiosity does n’t seem to be 
very keen. Why don’t you ask what it was 
I had to tell you? ” 


II2 


Captain Polly 


“ Because I knew you ’d tell me if I kept 
still/’ was the complacent answer. 

“Really? I have half a mind not to, after 
that, and I would n’t, except for the fact 
that I ’ve got to take your answer back to 
the girls. Now please listen to me for just 
one moment, for, really, this is a very serious 
matter, and I hope you’ll appreciate the 
honor, because it is a very great one, let me 
assure you.” Agnes paused impressively, 
to let her words sink well into Polly’s 
understanding. 

“ Well, go on. I ’m listening just as 
hard as ever I can,” was Polly’s reply, her 
great gray eyes turned up to Agnes. 

“ I don’t believe you are in the least im- 
pressed, or will be even when you know, 
for you are just simply the limit, Polly 
Howland I ” 

“ Limit of what? Why don’t you get at 
it and tell me what I ’m to feel so honored 
by? How do you expect me to have a 
regular caterpillar fit over something I don’t 
know a thing about? ” 

“Well, the girls want you to join our 
Mu Phi Psi Sorority. There! Does that 
impress you?” and Miss Agnes Simpson 
struck an attitude in order to note the effect 
of the mighty social shell hurled against 


WHen October Came 113 

Polly’s seemingly impregnable armor plate 
of indifference. 

The Mu Phi Psi Sorority was a power 
in the school, and a keen rivalry existed be- 
tween it and the Alpha Gammas of the 
Senior class. In most college sororities, a 
girl to be eligible must attain to a certain 
standard of work; must have given evidence 
of marked ability in one direction at least; 
in short, have the mind and character which 
would make her a welcome addition in any 
refined, intellectual, cultured circle, no mat- 
ter what her position in the great world of 
dollars and cents might happen to be. 
Alas! the gage of the Montgentian High 
School was not the same, and for some time 
this fact had been a source of disquiet to the 
faculty and to the more sensible proportion 
of the parents who took time to follow the 
details of their sons’ and daughters’ school 
lives. And there were a good many who 
did, in spite of the fact that there were a 
good many who did not, and for whom life 
held nothing of vital interest beyond politics 
and the club, or bridge whist, matinees, teas, 
and a round of social functions. 

The Howlands had, as a matter of course, 
always held their place in Montgentian’s 
social world, but Mrs. Howland had always 


Captain Polly 


II4 

been known by that homely term, “ a home- 
body.” She was fond of her friends, al- 
ways delighted to meet them, or to welcome 
them to her home, and before her husband’s 
death had been a very generous hostess. But 
Mrs. Howland had never been a society 
woman, and her daughters, while fond of 
the frolicking common to girls of their ages, 
had some pretty sane ideas in their merry, 
happy minds, and managed to get a good 
deal out of life without rushing madly after 
that elusive myth Pleasure, as so many of 
their friends did. And, as a matter of 
course, that capricious feminine seemed to 
seek them, and nowhere in Montgentian was 
a cheerier, happier home than the How- 
lands’ ; nowhere did the young people of the 
town love better to congregate. 

So it was not surprising that upon 
Polly’s entrance into high school she should 
immediately have been chosen for member- 
ship by hoth sororities, each one eager to 
secure her acceptance before the other could 
get the chance. The fact that Polly had 
not yet had time to prove her mental quali- 
ties as a pupil did not bear a straw’s weight 
in the matter. It was Polly Howland’s 
home and social position in Montgentian 
which instantly made her eligible; not only 


WHen October Came 115 

eligible, but a most coveted acquisition, for 
with her election to the sorority would very 
naturally follow, so reasoned some of its 
members, the entree to Polly’s home, the 
fellowship with Polly’s friends, which they 
very much desired. 

Now it must not be inferred that Mrs. 
Howland was, even in the remotest degree, 
that most odious of all creatures, the snob- 
bishly exclusive dame. Far from it! But 
there were just a few things she could not 
stand for, and for which, in some occult man- 
ner, her daughters seemed to have imbibed 
as pronounced an aversion. Among these 
were the ostentatious display of riches, the 
vain-glory of suddenly acquired wealth, the 
vaulting ambitions which those who had ac- 
quired it often showed to leap into favor 
with the people in Montgentian who by 
right of birth, breeding, and character held 
their places as the most honored and re- 
spected members of society, entirely regard- 
less of their bank accounts. Indeed, the 
most colossal bank account would not have 
had the slightest weight in swaying Mrs. 
Howland’s or her daughters’ favors toward 
purse-proud ignorance or vulgarity. 

And Polly, without being at all conscious 
of the fact, was one of the stanchest of this 


Ii6 Captain Polly 

standard’s upholders. It mattered not a 
whit to her whether her friends wore the 
latest-style garments, carried a little bagful 
of coins wherewith to treat their friends, 
lived in the most fashionable quarter of the 
town, had their horses and autos, or not. It 
was the girl^ or hoy, and what they them- 
selves were which won and held Polly’s 
friendship. From childhood she and Ralph 
had been boon-companions, and when ad- 
versity overtook the latter, both Mrs. How- 
land and Polly had stood by Mrs. Wilbur 
and Ralph. 

When Agnes Simpson had delivered this 
stupendous piece of news to Polly, she drew 
back to observe the effect of her words, fully 
expecting a rapture on Polly’s part, for very 
rarely were Freshmen “ called,” much less 
“ chosen.” 

For a few moments Polly looked from 
one to another of the group of which she 
was the centre, and upon whom all eyes were 
fixed. More than one would have given all 
he or she possessed to be in Polly’s shoes. 
Of course there could be no possible doubt 
as to what her reply would be, and when 
she finally turned to Ralph and asked, as 
though it were quite a matter of course, 
“ What is the name of your fraternity. 


WHen October Came 117 

Ralph? I don’t believe you’ve ever even 
thought to tell me a thing about it, you mean 
thing! ” that simple question had something 
of the effect of a dynamite bomb. 


CHAPTER IX 


AN HONOR DECLINED 

With all her sharp wits Polly was en- 
tirely free from any taint of a suspicious 
nature. She was too honest, and too ready 
to believe all others honest, to harbor such 
an undesirable quality in her character. 

So two or three very portentous moments 
passed after her simple question to Ralph, 
and it took all of those two or three minutes 
to put Polly wise to the fact that she had 
in some way made a home thrust. Ralph’s 
face had grown redder and redder; Agnes’s 
retrousse nose seemed to reach her eye- 
brows; the face of the boy standing near 
Ralph, his chum and classmate, wore the ex- 
pression of a thunder cloud, and all the 
others appeared to be about as uncomfort- 
able as possible. Then Polly, as usual, 
came to the front: 

“ Ralph Wilbur, why don’t you answer a 
perfectly simple question ? You "ve been in 
the High two years and if any one knows 

ii8 


i\n Honor Declined I19 

anything about the frats and — and — oh, 
sots, for short, you ought to. Which is 
yours? I know you boys have two just like 
the girls, though you always tried mighty 
hard to keep the grammar girls and boys 
from learning any of your old secrets or 
what you did. We didnft get to know 
much, and that ’s the truth, you are so ever- 
lastingly canny, but I know the girls have 
a Mu Phi Psi, and an Alpha Gamma, and 
the boys a Delta Zeta Eta, and the Alpha 
Epsilon, but what good the old things do 
you, or the fun in them, I Ve yet to learn. 
Which is yours? ” 

‘‘ Neither. I ’m not in a frat,” answered 
Ralph, and possibly he would never in all 
his life have a harder question to answer 
truthfully. 

“Not in a frat!” cried Polly, incredu- 
lously. “ And why not, I ’d like to know? ” 

“ Not enough brains, I guess. But come 
on, let ’s get toward home ; I Ve got a holy 
terror of a geometry prob to dope out 
between this and to-morrow at nine a.m.” 

“Not brains enough! Then how do you 
happen to stand highest in that same ge- 
ometry and skip all your exams I ’d like to 
know? I Ve managed to find out that much 
even if I Ve only just entered High.” 


IfiO Captain Polly 

“ Polly Howland, are you going to give 
me your answer regarding the Mu Phi 
Psi’s, or are you going to stand there talk- 
ing hot air to Ralph Wilbur for a half hour? 
I ^ve got to get home to luncheon, and then 
attend a meeting of our sorority at three, 
and if you think I can, looking like a fright, 
you are very much mistaken. One of the 
first rules of the society is a proper regard 
of its members for their personal appear- 
ance, and let me tell you right here, that 
your perfect taste has had no little bearing 
upon the girls’ choice of one new member 
at least; I ’ll not mention names.” 

“ Fiddle-dee-dee for their choice then, if 
my clothes can influence it,” retorted Polly 
hotly. “ In the first place it is n’t my taste 
at all, but mother’s and Constance’s ; if they 
happen to know that browns and deep cop- 
per tints look better with my red mop than 
other colors do, it ’s, it ’s — well I reckon, it ’s 
because they belong to the kind of folks who 
know what looks well because it ’s just nat- 
urally born in ’em to, and they can’t help 
it; they don’t even have to think about it. 
As for me — why I don’t care one little hoop- 
de-doodle about my clothes so long as they 
are comfortable and don’t jump out at every 
other color that comes near ’em. So if it 


An Honor Declined Ifil 

is my clothes you want, I ’ll send a whole 
pile of ’em along. As for wanting me, I 
don’t see how you can tell yet whether you 
want me or not, for I have n’t done one 
single thing in High to make me worth while, 
and Ralph has done a lot, yet he isn’t in 
one of the societies, he says. Now, why 
is n’t he? That ’s what I want to know and 
it ’s what I ’m going to find out before I 
join any Mu Phi Psi’s or Alpha Gamma’s 
or any other old sororities no matter how 
much they admire my duddies. My gracious, 
I wonder what Gail would say if she knew 
all this? It is lucky she’s up at Clover 
Dale instead of here! I wonder if she was 
chosen for one of the societies up there be- 
cause she has pretty feet and hands and 
wears the nicest shoes and gloves of any girl 
in the school? Those are Gail’s weak points, 
and she ’d rather spend her allowance for 
them than all the Huyler’s and ice-cream 
sodas ever. No, I won’t give you any an- 
swer now. I ’m sorry, but I just can’t. I 
may be sort of top-loftical and the girls may 
call me a stuck-up prig, but I can’t help it 
if they do. Perhaps I am both, but please 
tell them I appreciate what I dare say is 
a great honor even if I don’t accept it. 
There are a few things I ’m going to 


122 


Captain Pollx 


understand better before I enter any society 
though. So good-bye, everybody. Come 
on, Ralph, I want to talk to you about all 
this. Walk up home with me and have 
luncheon, mother is always glad to see you, 
and after luncheon we ’ll go and sit on 
brother Snap’s rock and get this thing 
straightened out,” and with a wave of her 
hand and a cheery nod to the others, Polly 
turned into the long, straight road which 
led up to her home. Ralph hesitated just 
one second, then turning to the boy with 
whom he had been walking, asked : 

“Do you mind, Harry?” The tall boy 
who was watching him and Polly with an 
amused expression in his wonderful blue 
eyes answered; 

“ Not on your life. Go ahead. I ’ll bet 
Polly ’ll get down to rock-bottom facts be- 
fore she ’s done with all this.” 

“ But how about the basket-ball meeting? 
I wanted to get to that later? That ’s why 
I was going home to peg away on my 
books.” 

“ Come down to-morrow at four. We 
have n’t done a thing yet, and I ’m going to 
hold the place open for you until you can 
make a try for it anyhow. So long,” and 
the captain of the basket-ball team gave a 


An Honor Declined 


123 


cheery wave of his hand as he turned away. 

The others started toward their various 
homes, Agnes pausing only long enough to 
say: 

“Well, Polly Howland, I want to tell 
you one thing: You are the very first girl 
who has ever hesitated one second when 
asked to join our society. Why every 
single member was just wild and crazy to 
get in and jumped at the chance. I should 
hate to say you were a very foolish girl, 
but ” 

“ Oh, you may as well say it as think it, 
and maybe it ’s all true, only — ^well, I tell 
you I ’m going to think first. Good-bye, 
and thank you for coming after me, Agnes. 
Now, Ralph, let ’s hurry or mother will 
think I ’m lost, strayed, or stolen.” 

When luncheon was over Ralph and 
Polly went up to Snap’s rock, as the ren- 
dezvous in the pine wood had been called 
ever since Snap’s visit. 

Seating themselves upon the lichen- 
covered seat,, with the gloriously tinted 
October trees beyond them and the softly- 
whispering pines overhead, they sat for a 
moment in silence? Then Polly began: 

“ Now, Ralph, you and I have been 
friends as long as we can remember, and 


124 


Captain Polly 


we Ve never had any secrets from each 
other, so far as I know. If we have one 
now it will be the first, so don’t let ’s begin. 
You ’ve never told me very much about 
your work in the High, or what you were 
doing there; maybe you thought I was too 
young to understand very much about it; 
perhaps I was. Somehow, until Snap came 
I seemed just a little girl, in a good many 
ways, but he made me sort of wake up and 
take notice, I guess. Anyhow, I ’ve done 
a lot of thinking since our little talks to- 
gether and since he made me guardian of 
the Colors. How beautiful they look from 
here, don’t they, as they float out against 
the sky? Don’t you love them, Ralph? 
Don’t you feel as though you couldn’t do 
one single mean thing, or have a single mean 
thought down inside you while they wave 
over your head? I do.” 

Polly paused, and Ralph nodded. He 
could never put into words, as Polly could, 
all the emotions which swayed him. He 
could act quickly, but not speak readily. 
Without looking at him Polly continued: 

“You have been in high school two 
years. You’ve done good work, that I 
know or you wouldn’t be a Junior at fif- 
teen. You have n’t made any of the teams, 


An Honor Declined 125 

to be sure, but that ’s because you have n’t 
grown as fast as the other people and 
haven’t been as strong, but you are going 
to make the basket-ball squad this year, I ’ll 
bet anything; Harry Hull says so, and he 
knows. Why, do you know we Ve both 
grown like anything during these last three 
months? Mother has had to make all my 
skirts longer and you ’ve had to have those 
trousers lengthened. Is n’t it lucky so much 
was turned up at the bottom of them? 
Wouldn’t brother Snap be surprised if he 
could see us now? I guess he knew what 
he was talking about when he gave us 
what he called ‘ setting-up drill ’ during 
those three weeks, and made us promise to 
do the exercises every single day of our lives 
till he came back. And we have, and just 
see what they’ve done for us,” and Polly 
hastily unbuttoned the cuff of her shirtwaist 
and ran her sleeve to her shoulder, thus dis- 
closing as firm, round, and brown a little 
arm as any girl of thirteen could boast. 
Ralph quickly removed his jacket and rolled 
up his sleeve also. The spindly arm over 
which Snap had repressed a smile was far 
less spindly, and the slight body which had 
raised that strong man’s pitying glances had 
filled out until the midshipman’s service 


126 


Captain Polly 


blouse and trousers were a pretty snug fit. 
Polly eyed him critically, then said; 

“ Yes, you are lots bigger, Ralph. How 
much do you weigh now? ” 

“Ninety-two,” answered Ralph promptly. 
“That beats eighty-five hollow, doesn’t it? 
What do you weigh? ” 

“ Eighty-nine. Goodness, but we Ve 
gained a lot, haven’t we? My coat’s get- 
ting tight too, and mother has had to let 
down my skirt twice. I ’d be awful sorry 
to get too big for my suits though, would n’t 
you? Well, this isn’t getting down to the 
society question. Now, do you know the 
reason, or don’t you, why you were not 
asked to join one of the frats? You may 
as well tell me, for if you don’t I am not 
going to stop till I find out from some one 
else, and that won’t please you a little bit, 
I know.” 

“ Well, if you will have it I suppose you 
will, but it seems just nonsense to talk about 
it. Harry put up my name for his frat 
last year, — you know we don’t often get 
elected Freshman year, and yon^re in luck 
to be chosen, — ^but it didn’t go. I didn’t 
know or think much about it at first. I was 
too busy with the work, and mother was n’t 
very well last winter and I had a lot of 


An Honor Declined 


127 


things to do. Then this summer it seems 
he made another try while he and some of 
the fellows were up at the summer camp on 
Lake George. You know he wanted me 
to go, but I had this chance in the W. U. T. 
Co. again and it seemed as though I ought 
not let it slip. Anyhow, I couldn’t have 
afforded the camp, and there was the end 
of it. Well, the two things together queered 
me for membership with the Alpha Epsi- 
lon, Harry’s frat, you know. It costs a 
tidy bit to become a member, and a tidier 
bit to stay a member and, well, I was a mes- 
senger boy, and mother’s a librarian, and 
we live in a little flat on King Street and, 
oh, well — everything that ’s too darned silly 
to talk about,” ended Ralph in disgust. 

During this recital, which Ralph had 
given with more and more emphasis until 
the climax was reached, Polly’s eyes had 
grown bigger and bigger and darker and 
darker, and the blood surged into her cheeks 
until they were crimson. When he fin- 
ished, she sprang to her feet and with one 
hand braced against a huge tree trunk and 
the other pointing straight at Ralph, as 
though menacing him rather than the fra- 
ternity of which he had been speaking, she 
demanded: 


128 


Captain Polly 


“ And do you mean to tell me that your 
having done something to help your mother 
earn a living, and that because you Ve — 
you ’ve — well, you Ve had to be careful, 
some of the boys didn’t want you in the 
Alpha Epsilon? ” 

“ Maybe the helping to earn the living 
did n’t count so much ; it was the way I 
helped; that W. U. T. cap stumped one 
or two of them, I ’ve heard, though some of 
’em were ready to spoon all over me when 
I got into the togs Mr. Hunter gave me. 
Funny though, is n’t it, how little things 
queer you sometimes?” 

You may call it funny if you can see 
anything funny in it, but I call it too mean, 
and small, and contemptible, and silly for 
all the words in the dictionary to describe, 
and I tell you right here and now, Ralph 
Wilbur, that I wouldn’t belong to one of 
those sororities not if every girl in them came 
and begged me to. No! and what ’s more, 
I ’m going to begin this very day to plan 
out a club, or something, which will just 
run those silly things out of the Montgen- 
tian High School. You needn’t look, 
’cause I mean just exactly what I say, and 
you are going to help me too. It isn’t 
going to be for girls alone, but for the girls 


An Honor Declined 


129 


and boys together, and if I don’t make it 
a success before brother Snap comes back, 
I ’ll know the reason why ! And it is going 
to stand for something more, let me tell you, 
than eating suppers, and dancing, and wear- 
ing pretty clothes. Ugh, it just makes me 
hate the very name of clothes! The very 
idea of letting such things influence our 
friendships. Why, I ’d be ashamed to let 
that flag wave over my head, or to act as 
its custodian, as brother Snap said, if I let 
such silly things govern my actions, and I 
just won’t, and that ’s all there is about it.” 

“ Say, Polly,” cried Ralph eagerly, “ sup- 
pose we try to get up a social club in the 
school. I mean one where we can have good 
times and nobody will feel out of place be- 
cause he has n’t got — well, his father and 
mother haven’t got a barrel of money to 
tap and hand out all the cash he wants. I 
tell you, Polly, it would n’t have been so 
funny after all if I had been elected to one 
of the frats. How the dickens could I have 
paid the initiation fee and all the other dues? 
Why, do you know what Harry had to put 
up for his? Just exactly ten good solid 
dollars! I look like ten-dollar fees and 
dues, don’t I, with mother getting only 
seventy-flve a month and the forty-five I 


130 


Captain Polly- 


chipped in during the summer — and got 
turned down for the chipping — all I have 
in the world! ’’ Ralph’s tone held no bitter- 
ness but his mouth took harder lines. Even 
at fifteen one can resent the inequalities and 
injustice of some of the standards of the 
social world, and the rebuff at the hands 
of those whom he considered his friends had 
hurt Ralph more than any of them guessed. 
Polly looked at him steadily for a moment, 
her eyes narrowing and her pretty cupid’s 
bow growing tense, then she said: 

“ Ralph, are you going to let anything 
as silly as a boys’ society queer you? ” 

“ Not on your sweet life! Only ” 

“ Yes, only? ” interrogated Polly. 

“ Oh, well, you don’t know anything about 
it! You may not be a rich girl, but gee 
whiz! you ’re not depending on your mother 
for every little fool thing you need. Why, 
Polly, I feel just like thirty cents when I 
have to go and ask her for anything. Maybe 
if I were a girl I would n’t, but I ’m almost 
a man^ Polly. Some fellows at fifteen are 
twice my size and earning their living, but 
here I am — gosh!” and the expletive held 
the most intense disgust. 

“ Ralph Wilbur, listen to nie. You ’ve 
given me half a dozen ideas in as many 


An Honor Declined 131 

minutes. Whether we can ever carry them 
out remains to be seen, but if we don’t make 
one grand try for it I promise you I ’ll know 
the reason why.” 

“ I ’ll bet you ’ll do it if you set out to,” 
was Ralph’s enthusiastic reply. 

“ Listen: Hike along home now and do 
your lessons for to-morrow, and I ’ll go in 
and do mine, then come back here at half- 
past five, — the Admiral has ordered Colors 
at half -past five now, because the days are 
getting so much shorter, — and after we have 
had Colors we will plan this all out. It ’s 
all sort of hazy with me now, but I ’ll get 
my wits working after I ’ve done my les- 
sons. Good-bye. Tell your mother you 
are going to take dinner with us,” and, giv- 
ing herself a little shake to settle her clothing, 
the next moment Polly was speeding toward 
the house. Ralph gave a good-bye wave 
and fled for his home. 


CHAPTER X 


THE MU PHI PSI’S RIVAU 

The glory of an October sunset was fill- 
ing the world when Ralph came hurrying 
up the hill. It was just twenty minutes 
past five as he turned in at the gate of 
Polly’s home and Polly herself met him, her 
beloved bugle tucked under her arm. 

“Good! I’m so glad you got here in 
time to sound warning call; I was just going 
out to the staff; you sound it to-night; 
mother and Connie will come out as soon 
as they hear it,” and Polly handed the bugle 
to Ralph. Together they hurried up the 
steep path to the terrace, and a moment later 
the cheery warning call for Colors rang out 
across the grounds. As the last note died 
away, Mrs. Howland and Constance came 
arm in arm from the house; they never 
missed the call if they could help it. They 
crossed the lawn to the terrace, Mrs. How- 
land saying: 

“ I ’m glad you can sound Colors for us 
to-night, Ralph. These school-days are 
132 


TKe M\j PHi Psi*s IVival 133 

such busy ones that they keep you away 
from us more than we like to have you. I 
wonder what we shall do when the long 
stormy days of winter come? Who will 
raise and lower the Colors then? ’’ 

I shall/' was Polly’s emphatic assertion. 
“ Ralph can’t come and go then, but I ’m 
right here, ‘ Johnny on the spot,’ brother 
Snap would say, and I mean to be.” 

“ I wish I could be too, but, gee whiz I 
I seem to have more to do every day, and 
less gray matter to do it with. But there 
goes five-thirty,” as the stroke of the distant 
town-clock was borne to their ears. 

As Ralph raised the bugle to his lips, Polly 
loosened the halyards and slowly lowered 
the flag. Down, down, down, it drifted, 
waving, floating in the soft October air 
until, with the last sweet notes of the call, 
it came within reach of her outstretched 
arms and was gathered into them. 

“ Oh, you beautiful, beautiful thing! ” she 
cried, as she buried her face in its folds, 
“ just make me think right and do right, 
for I ’d be ashamed to be your guardian if 
I didn’t.” 

Then the flag was folded as Snap had 
taught them to fold it, and Polly hurried 
away to lay it in the big chest in the hall; 


134 


Captain Polly 


the very same chest in which the shell-pink 
gown had lain so long, and which he had 
asked permission to carry down to the front 
hall as a suitable repository for the flag. 
That chest had some very sweet memories 
for Snap as well as for the others. Ralph 
paused only long enough to make fast the 
halyards and then turned to walk back with 
Mrs. Howland and Constance. When they 
reached the house Polly had put her flag 
carefully away and was ready to plunge into 
the subject now uppermost in her mind. 

“ Now, come up to my den, Ralph, and 
let ’s get something settled ; we have a whole 
hour before dinner.’’ 

Ralph hung his cap upon the hall stand 
and turning bounded up the stairs after 
Polly. At the end of the hall, just between 
her own pretty bedroom and her mother’s, 
was a small room which had been given to 
Polly for her own special sanctum sancto- 
rum, and in it she had gathered together in 
the course of time a fine and varied collec- 
tion of treasures. Here was her desk with 
its pretty brass appointments, its dark-blue 
blotter, for everything must now suggest 
the Navy. Just above it was fastened the 
Navy pennant, megaphone, and ribbons 
which Constance had carried to the great 


TKe Mvi PHi Psi’s Rival 


135 


Army-Navy game on that memorable day. 
On the walls were photographs of several of 
the battle-ships, Class Christmas cards which 
Snap had given her, and dozens of other 
precious trophies. 

Even the rug and couch-cover were of 
dark blue, and the pillows on the couch 
displayed Navy symbols galore. 

Giving a spring Polly landed in one 
corner of the couch and invitingly patting 
it said; 

“ Come on, make yourself comfy.” 

Ralph needed no second invitation, and 
the next moment was leaning back against 
a big yellow anchor on a dark-blue back- 
ground. 

“ Now, Ralph, what was your idea? I ’ve 
got mine all outlined but I want to hear 
yours first. I don’t want to run the whole 
show, you know.” 

“ I guess you can run it a heap better 
than I can, though I ’m ready to help. I 
talked to mother about it for a few minutes 
while I was down at the library this after- 
noon and she gave me some pretty good 
tips. She told me, in the first place, that 
up at college they would n’t take into their 
sororities any girl who had even belonged 
to one in any high school. The girl might 


Captain Polly 


136 

be all right enough, but it was the general 
opinion of the college sororities that girls 
coming from high-school Greek-letter so- 
cieties were too stuck on their own ideas to 
be any sort of use to the college sororities, 
and they meant to turn them down. Then 
she told me about a school club she used to 
belong to. She could n’t tell me much be- 
cause there was n’t much time, but what she 
did tell put some ideas into my pate, and 
I bet we could do it right here in Montgen- 
tian just as easy as anything.” 

“ Quick, tell me all about it ! ” cried Polly, 
as Ralph paused for breath. 

“Well, you know mother was never a 
real high-school girl; I mean not the kind 
of High we go to. She had the same work 
but it really was a private school where the 
pupils paid a tuition fee. When the real 
high school in that place — she used to live 
in Kenwood, you know — got so stuck on 
its old societies that it would n’t have any- 
thing to do with the other girls if it could 
help it, — it did n’t make any difference how 
nice the girls were or anything; if they 
didn’t belong to the real High, as they called 
it, they were not in the running, and that 
settled it, — the real High turned them down. 
Well, it so happened that most of the girls 


THe Mu PKi Psi’s Rival 


137 


in the private school had the whip hand in 
a way, so they started their ‘ Social Club ’ 
and pretty soon it was the whole show and 
the orchestra thrown in. They had the cash 
and it did n’t take them long to get the run 
of things.” 

Ralph paused for a moment and Polly 
was silent, her forehead drawn into a per- 
plexed pucker. 

‘‘ How does it strike you? ” asked Ralph. 

“ It strikes me all right except for one 
thing, the shoe is sort of on the other foot 
with us. Of course, some of the boys and 
girls in our High can do almost anything 
they want to if it comes to a question of 
money, but then again a good many of them 
can't and that is the difference ’twixt twee- 
dledum and tweedledee, and I don’t want to 
start up anything that will make the twee- 
dledees feel down and out, and I won’t. 
There are a lot of mighty nice people in 
our school who can’t afford dues and fees 
any more than you could, and yet they must 
want to have a good time as much as the 
others want to, and they ought to have it 
too. Now, why can’t we fix it so they can? 
See here, Ralph, will you try to get five 
boys if I ’ll try to get five girls who will 
start a club with us? That will make a 


138 


Captain Polly 


dozen to begin with and then we ’ll see what 
we ’ll see. Of course we ’ve got to have a 
place to meet, but for a while we can meet 
here, until we get things started anyway, 
I mean. And we must have some money, 
too, or we won’t be able to do a thing, but 
I tell you right now that whoever joins this 
club must be willing to do something to 
earn that money for himself and her- 
self ” 

“ Polly, you ’re a brick! ” broke in Ralph, 
enthusiastically. 

“Maybe only a blockhead!” laughed 
Polly. “We may not be able to carry it 
through after all. Now let ’s see what you 
and I could do to earn — say five dollars 
each: that would be a good starter, ’cause if 
we each earned five dollars that would be 
sixty if we began with twelve members, 
and sixty dollars would be a lot.” 

“How about my photographs?” asked 
Ralph. “ You know my kodak is a beauty,” 
and Mr. Stratton down in the village bought 
some of my pictures and said they were 
dandies. Perhaps I could get the East- 
man people to take some too. I can try 
anyway,” 

“Just the very thing! And now what, 
•what can Z do? I don’t believe I ’ve got 


THe M\i PHi Psi*s Rival 


139 


one single accomplishment, or resource, or, 
whatever you call it, I ’m no sort of use, 
I ’m afraid,” and Polly looked dejected at 
this realization of her limitations. 

“ How about those things you made last 
Christmas? Don’t you know you sent some 
to mother and she spooned all over ’em? ” 

“What! Those little brass jimcracks? 
Why, they don’t amount to a hill of beans.” 

“ Mother thinks they amount to a whole 
row,” laughed Ralph. “ They are dandies.” 

“ Well, if I can punch out five dollars it 
will be as easy as rolling off a log. Why, 
Ralph, it didn’t take me a day to punch 
those brass candle-shades, and I know how 
to make dozens of other things. Do you 
know what I ’m going to do? I ’m going 
down to see Mrs. Winter, she ’s president of 
the Woman’s Exchange, you know, and I ’ll 
ask her if I may put some things there for 
sale. I ’ve got some brass things put away 
that I made this summer ; I really made them 
for Christmas presents, hut I can make a 
lot more as easy as anything, and I need 
these right off. If I can sell them I be- 
lieve I can get five dollars, maybe more, for 
they have such things in Dinsmore’s and 
charge like cracky for them. Maybe mine 
are n’t quite as nice, but they look pretty 


140 


Captain Polly 


good. Anyway, I mean to try,” and Polly 
gave a little bounce in her corner to em- 
phasize her determination. 

“ I ’ll bet my cap you ’ll sell ’em right off, 
and I ’ll get a wiggle on too. I ’ve got a 
lot of photos I can use, and I mean to get 
busy and take some more this fall. It ’s 
dandy weather for it — so clear and still. 
Now the next question is, whom shall I ask 
to join this club and what shall I tell them 
it is to be for? ” 

‘‘ Common-sense, first, last, and middle- 
wise!” cried Polly. “Perhaps if we keep 
a fair supply of that on hand we won’t get 
into a mixup first thing. Then there ’s an- 
other thing I think we ought to do: You 
know Mr. Stone just hates those frater- 
nities and sororities, and has tried like any- 
thing to break them up, because he says they 
separate the school into cliques and lower 
its standards by making the pupils think 
more of social position than the school, and 
whether a girl or boy can dress as well as 
some one else, or if he or she lives in a nice 
house, or can ride to school in an auto, and 
— oh, a dozen other foolish things. Now if 
we sail right in without saying one word to 
him he will think our club is going to be 
just the same kind and he will jump all over 


TKe Mvi PHi Psi’s Rival 141 

US, you see if he does n’t. So we have just 
got to go and have a talk with him and put 
him right, don’t you see?” 

“ Shall we appoint a committee, or just 
go ourselves ? ” asked Ralph. 

Polly laughed. “Where would we get 
our committee ? I guess you and I will have 
to be it whether we want to or not. I ’m 
not pining to go down there and give a big 
talk, for I have n’t been in the High long 
enough to be even a little toad in a big 
puddle, but, well, if a thing has got to be 
done it ’s got to, and there ’s no use taking 
a week to think about it and get so fussed 
that we can’t say three words straight when 
we begin to talk. There really is n’t any 
reason for being scared, of course. Mr. and 
Mrs. Stone are both mother’s friends and 
I see them here often enough. Good gra- 
cious! I remember as well as can be when 
Mr. Stone used to set me on his foot and 
jig me up and down to the tune of ‘ Ride 
a cock-horse,’ and here I ’m Miss How- 
land’ in his school now. Funny, isn’t it, how 
just a little while can change everything? 
No, I ’m not scared, but there ’s a difference 
between being little Polly Howland who 
used to call him ‘ Uncle Stone ’ when she 
was three years old, and ‘ Miss Howland ’ 


142 


Captain Polly 


who must walk up to ‘ Mr. Stone/ principal 
of the High, and say: ‘Please, sir, I’d 
like your permission to run this whole 
sheerbang.’ ” 

The laugh which floated down to the li- 
brary, where Mrs. Howland and Constance 
sat, told its own story of appreciation. Then 
Ralph and Polly sat down to business once 
more. 

“ Let ’s both go to see Mr. Stone to- 
morrow right after school. You know he 
generally goes back for an hour or two 
in the afternoon, and if we can ask him 
about it then there will be no one around 
to bother us. I ’ll get down there before 
school to-morrow morning and ask him 
myself.” 

“ Good! Then we ’ll both do our share 
later and — there ’s dinner, and look at me ! 
Go on down and I ’ll come as soon as I ’ve 
tidied my mop and washed by hands.” 

When the meal was over, Ralph said: 

“ Polly, do you know what I think we 
ought to do? I think we ought to draft a 
little outline of what we want to do, and 
just what we mean this club of ours to stand 
for. Mr. Stone will be sure to ask us forty 
questions, and unless we can give him pretty 
straight answers he will think we are a 


THe M\i PKi Psi*s Rival 143 

mighty poor committee. Suppose we get 
busy and do it right off? ’’ 

“ Come on back to the den then,” and 
Polly raced up the stairs pell-mell. 

For an hour the red head and the brown 
one bent over the desk, writing down, eras- 
ing, revising, then Polly leaned back in her 
chair and held up before her four carefully 
written sheets and began to read aloud: 

“ The Social Club 
of the 

Montgentian High School. 

“ An organization of the pupils of the 
Montgentian High School for the promo- 
tion of social activities without taking into 
consideration ” — here Polly paused. “ I 
don’t like all that. Isn’t there some word 
that will tell it all at once? ” 

Ralph thought a second, then asked : 
“ How would ‘ irrespective ’ do? ” 

‘‘Yes, that^s it! — irrespective of classes 
[‘ That means classes in every sense too,’ 
was Polly’s remark aside] or standing.” 

“We hope to have a dancing class, an 
athletic association, a literary society, a 
musical club, and perhaps a domestic club 
for the girls and arts and crafts for the 
boys. 


144 


Captain Polly 


“ Any boy or girl is eligible if he or she 
behaves himself — ‘ that ’s awful, is n’t it? ’ ” 
“ Pretty bad,” admitted Ralph. ‘‘ How 
would it do to put it this way? ‘ Any boy 
or girl of refinement and good moral stand- 
ards is eligible.’ Or maybe we ’d better 
say : ‘ Any pupil who appreciates the aims 

of the club and will pledge himself to uphold 
its standards — ’ ” 

“Yes! Yes! That ’s better. 

“ Any pupil who can appreciate the aims 
of the club and who will pledge himself to 
uphold its standards, is eligible. 

“ The initiation fee is five dollars, and 
each member must give his word to earn this 
sum in some way, and not ask for it from 
parents or guardians. This sum is to be set 
aside to meet the initial ” — 

(“ Is n’t it nice I thought of that word? ” 
cried Polly.) 

“ Bully! ” agreed Ralph. 

“ — expenses of the club, and as soon as 
each member can earn and contribute five 
more it will be kept for a reserve fund to 
draw upon for emergencies. 

“ On becoming a member each girl is to 
promise to dress very simply when any enter- 
tainment is given, (‘it would be silly to 
say such a thing to the boys ’cause they hate 


THe M\ji PKi Psi’s IVival 


145 


to dress up anyhow’), and must also pro- 
mise not to talk about their clothes, (‘ I 
don’t see how they can anyway, but if they 
know they can’t they ’ll pretty soon begin 
to find out that — that — well, that most peo- 
ple have got something else to talk about ’), 
or make any remarks about other people’s. 
Everybody must, of course, be neat, but 
over-dressing will be regarded as very bad 
form. 

‘‘We hope to begin with twelve charter 
members who will elect by vote the various 
officers of the club. We wish also to have a 
patriotic branch in the club whose duty it will 
be to keep informed on various important 
current events, and to thoroughly study the 
history of our country that each national 
holiday, or anniversary, may be properly 
mentioned, or celebrated in a manner to keep 
the events fresh in our minds and hearts. 
They must also follow the important move- 
ments of each branch of our service, the 
A rpi v and Navy, and promise to honor the 
flag which protects us, and all members are 
to do all in their power to inspire in others 
a love and reverence for the flag. It is 
never to be used in a foolish or trivial way, 
but to be regarded as an inspiration for all 
that is best and truest in us. 


146 


Captain Polly 


“ The club will meet at least once a week 
at some place mutually agreed upon, and 
we hope when it is once well established to 
have a regular club-room, or maybe in time 
a small club-house. 

“ Its members must pledge themselves 
to be truthful and honorable in everything 
they do, and to try to live as though each 
had sworn to keep this oath to the flag it- 
self, just as men who enter WestJP oint or 
Annapolis swear to serve their flag and 
their country and never disgrace the ser- 
vice by conduct unbecoming an officer and 
a gentleman. 

“ This outline may not be just like one a 
regular club of grown-up people would pre- 
sent, but it is what two of the Montgentian 
High School pupils hope the club will be.” 

When Polly finished reading, there was 
silence for a few moments as she and Ralph 
considered deeply the statements of their 
paper. Presently Polly said: 

“ Ralph, does it sound a little, — a little 
queer to you? We know what we want 
to say, and we know what we want to do^ 
but I ’m afraid we don’t know how to do 
the saying. Suppose you try now? ” 

“ No, leave it as it is and I ’ll give it to 
Mr. Stone in the morning. If he takes an 


TKe Mvi PKi Pis’sIVival 


147 


interest in it he ’ll mighty soon know how 
to boost us along toward putting it into 
proper shape, and if he does n’t approve he 
will be just as quick to give it a black eye, 
and then we ’ll be glad we did n’t fuss over 
it any longer. Give it to me, for I must 
beat it for home. Good-night, Polly, you ’re 
just great.” 


CHAPTER XI 


THE MU PHI PSI’S MEETING 

Early the following morning Ralph 
tapped at the door of Mr. Stone’s office. 
A quick “ Come in,” bade him enter. He 
crossed the threshold and, without pausing 
to think, saluted as he and Polly always 
saluted each other since Snap had taught 
them the regulation salute, then blushed in 
confusion. 

Mr. Stone smiled, then, returning the 
salute, said: 

“Mine was learned at a boys’ Military 
Academy a good many years ago; it is not 
just like yours; who taught you? ” 

“Mr. Hunter, sir. But I really didn’t 
mean to do it just now; I forgot; I beg 
pardon, sir.” 

“ And why? ” asked Mr. Stone, kindly. 

“Why, it seemed a little fresh — a little 
familiar, I mean, I ’m afraid.” 

“ I almost wish we could introduce some 
of our military training in our public schools. 
I believe the discipline would be a good 

148 


THe M\j PHi Psi*s Meeting 149 

thing, though I wonder how the girls would 
regard it,” and Mr. Stone laughed softly. 

“ Polly would be as pleased as anything! ” 
cried Ralph, enthusiastically, as though 
Polly’s opinion were the only one to be con- 
sidered for a moment. And then as though 
the mention of Polly’s name recalled the 
object of his visit he drew from his blouse 
the envelope containing the statement which 
he and Polly — mostly Polly — ^had written 
the previous evening. Mr. Stone saw it 
and asked: 

“ What can I do for you, Wilbur? ” 

“ Would you mind looking over this paper 
sometime this morning, Mr. Stone? Polly 
and I drew it up last evening. We are not 
very proud of the job, but we thought we ’d 
better give you some sort of an outline of 
our plan and ask you to let us talk it over 
this afternoon if you approved. We hope 
you will, sir, because we ’d like mighty well 
to carry it through. Do you think you 
could see us this afternoon sometime? ” 

Ralph had spoken eagerly, his face grow- 
ing more and more alight with his subject. 

‘‘ Will this outline you and Polly have 
prepared give me a clear idea of what you 
wish? ” 

“ Well, fairly,” hesitated Ralph, “ though 


150 Captain Polly 

there are a lot of things we ’d like to explain 
too.” 

“ I ’m afraid I can’t see you to-day, Wil- 
bur, for we have a meeting of the School 
Board at three, but if you and Polly will 
be on hand to-morrow at three I can give 
you an hour or even longer, and will do so 
gladly. You and Polly are likely to hold 
your own here, I think. You have thus 
far, and I ’m pleased with your record, well 
pleased, and if you go on as you ’ve begun 
you ’ll come out on top, my boy,” and Mr. 
Stone held out his hand. Ralph was about 
as confused as the average boy is when 
openly praised, and, returning the hand- 
clasp, made his escape as speedily as pos- 
sible, murmuring an almost inaudible: 

“ Thank you, sir! Thank you. I ’ll try, 
sir. Yes, sir. Polly and I ’ll be on deck 
— here^ I mean, to-morrow at three sharp.” 

Mr. Stone interrupted with: “Now, I 
think of it, you and Polly would better come 
to my house. I shall not come back to the 
school to-morrow afternoon. I can see you 
at three, as I said, and give you an hour or 
so before Mrs. Stone and I start for town. 
You see it will be our wedding anniversary 
and we mean to have a little celebration. 
Good-bye again, Ralph, and good luck.” 


THe M\j PHi Psi’s Meeting 151 

It seemed a long interval of waiting, with 
patience tightly corked up, and their hopes 
alternately soared and took headers during 
those hours, though, little as they suspected 
it. Fate was working in their favor, but in 
a way which seemed terribly cruel to others. 

When Agnes left Polly the previous after- 
moon, that young lady was in a frame of 
mind difficult to analyze. That a Freshman, 
and a brand new Freshman at that, should 
arrogate to herself the choice of entering 
one of the high-school sororities, and actu- 
ally hesitate to embrace such an honor when 
it was thrust upon her by a Sophomore high 
in social circles, was simply outrageous, in- 
tolerable I Yes, she must be made to under- 
stand, and very fully understand too, the 
flagrance of her offence. Indeed, if she 
were blackballed after Agnes had told of 
her unpardonable indifference it would just 
serve the little chit exactly right. All these 
thoughts were seething and fuming through 
Agnes’s rattlepated brain as she made her 
way to the sorority room at three p.m., for a 
meeting had promptly been called. No 
time must be lost in nominating (capturing 
would have been a more apt word) this new 
member so desirable to both sororities. That 
the new member-elect might have some idea 


152 


Captain Polly 


and voice in the matter herself was a phase 
in the development of things which the Mu 
Phi Psi’s, at least, never considered pos- 
sible. So Agnes set forth in a frame of 
mind it would be hard to describe. 

Only a few girls were present, but enough 
to decide upon the following afternoon at 
four for the election of the nominees. After 
some details for the next day had been 
arranged the meeting adjourned. 

The rooms rented by the sorority were 
not far from the school. Of course, as 
minors, the girls themselves could not sign 
a lease, but one Mamma did sign, whose end 
and aim of ambition was to have her Lucette 
a member of Mu Phi Psi’s the M. P. P.’s 
were just a trifle more exclusive than the 
Alpha Gamma’s, who were a little, just a 
little, inclined to admit within their circle 
some — ^well, some members whom the Mu 
Phi Psi’s regarded as social outsiders. For 
instance, Betty Stark was a member, and 
even though this particular Betty Stark 
could trace her descent straight from the 
famous ‘‘ Betty Stark ” who was to be a 
widow if her brave husband failed in his 
hazardous undertaking, and was one of the 
brightest little Sophomores in the school and 
a very charming, lovable girl in every re- 


THe Mvi PHi Psi’s Meeting 153 

spect, a most unkind fate had decreed that 
she should not be the fortunate possessor of 
great wordly wealth, must live modestly, 
and do not a little toward the comfort and 
well-being of two brothers and a sister 
younger than herself. Betty’s home was — 
hush, don’t breathe it! — in an apartment 
house in the very heart of the town. True, 
it was a most attractive apartment and well 
appointed, and its roof sheltered about a 
dozen very charming families, most of whose 
children attended the public schools of Mont- 
gentian, and two of whose daughters were 
college girls, but — a trolley line ran in front 
of it! Think of living on a street with a 
trolley line! Horribly vulgar locality! 
And still worse, some of the pupils who 
came to the High from that same apartment 
actually brought their luncheon with them 
in boxes! Deliciously dainty little lunch- 
eons, often prepared by mother’s own hands, 
no doubt, but still luncheons brought from 
home instead of purchased at the school 
lunch-room in the building, or, far better 
form, at Ramsdell’s on Broad Street, where 
one could get a perfect love of a caramel 
sundae, or a glass of ice-cream soda, if the 
weather happened to incline one to cooling 
refreshments, or possibly a chocolate eclair, 


154 


Captain Polly 


or a ravishing lady-lock if zero weather set 
the shivers running down one’s back at the 
thought of ice-cream. Good gracious! who 
would consider mother’s delicate chicken 
sandwiches, or dainty slices of wholesome 
home-made bread, spread with orange mar- 
malade that simply melted in your mouth, 
and left with you for hours a delightful re- 
minder of its flavor, to say nothing of a 
good generous slice of Bridget’s chocolate 
cake, baked by that same Bridget for love 
of Betty or Betty’s scapegrace brother 
Jack. Ugh, horrible thought, it had jour- 
neyed to school in a bocc! 

Agnes was late in reaching the club-room 
the following afternoon, and as she climbed 
the last step of the stairs her ears were as- 
sailed by a perfect magpie chattering of 
voices. She hurried into the room to be 
greeted by: 

“ Oh, you dear thing! What has made 
you so late? We are just simply perishing 
to begin, for there are three new members 
to be initiated, and you have n’t heard one 
single thing of the new initiation rites for 
this year yet. Go take off your things just 
as quick as ever you can [English does n’t 
count in the Mu Phi Psi’s] and come on.” 

“And where is Miss Howland? I 


THe M\j PHi Psi’s Meeting 155 

thought you were to bring her with you? ” 
cried Paula Weisman, the member of the 
Mu Phi Psi’s most eager to secure Polly 
Howland for membership, and the one who 
had urged prompt action in that direction, 
and an early meeting in order to clinch the 
membership and give that young lady no 
possible chance to change her mind and per- 
haps be swayed toward the Alpha Gammas ; 
a contingency too dreadful for the Mu Phi 
Psi’s to contemplate for one second. The 
reply hurled back at her as Agnes hurried 
into the dressing-room to lay aside her 
things was a figurative bomb. 

“ Oh, don’t mention Miss Howland to 
me ! She is n’t fit to be allowed out of her 
nursery yet. She is a mere baby, with no 
more idea of what it means to be asked to 
join this sorority than a child of two would 
have. And what ’s more, you need not count 
on her^ for she will never be one of us, and 
I, for one, don’t care if she is n’t. Such a 
little fool!” 

Naturally these words left considerable 
food for speculation and there was no lack 
of it as the door closed behind Agnes. 

“ Do you really think Polly Howland 
has declined this honor? Never! She may 
be mighty independent, and have a pretty 


156 Captain Polly 

good idea of her position in Montgentian, 
but, thus far, she has n’t any whatsoever in 
the High, and if she misses this chance to 
settle it she may just as well make up her 
mind to drop out of the running, and have 
done with it.” 

“ What do you suppose Agnes could 
have said to stir her up? You know she is 
quite capable of doing such things,” were 
some of the charitable comments behind 
Agnes’s back. 

The room which Agnes entered was a 
large, cheery one on the second floor of a 
building used mostly by professional men. 
On the first floor was an extensively patron- 
ized apothecary shop ; a doctor had his 
offices opposite the club-room; a dentist was 
on the floor above. Mamma had taken all 
these facts into consideration when renting 
the three rooms, and the Mu Phi Psi’s had 
furnished them forth in a manner which the 
members of an adult club might regard as 
almost luxurious. The dues of this par- 
ticular sorority were more of a tax upon 
some of its members than those members 
would permit others to suspect, and instead 
of the demands upon the resources of the 
club lessening with an increased member- 
ship, they increased at a rate almost stagger- 


THe M\i PKi Psi’s Meeting 157 

ing to the girls whose parents’ incomes were 
modest, and it was the parents who invari^ 
ably had to meet them. More than one 
mother had gone without a new fall hat, or 
denied herself a new gown in order that 
Paula, or Fanny, or Irene might meet her 
five-dollar dues promptly, or buy the so- 
rority pin, and ribbons, and banners, and 
heavens knows what not. That they might 
possibly get busy and earn the wherewithal 
themselves never occurred to the girls, or, if 
it did, the thought was instantly strangled: 
the very idea of its members earning any- 
thing for it would be enough to stamp the 
club as an exceedingly mediocre affair, and 
the rich members would very naturally re- 
sign. Then where would the club’s pres- 
tige be? No! Emphatically the club must 
stand for exactly what it was: the social 
dividing line between the aristocrats and the 
plebeians of the school. Hail American 
Democracy! 

There were three new members to be 
elected this afternoon, and after Agnes had 
joined them and in a measure made them 
grasp the enormity of Polly’s defection, and 
heinous lack of appreciation, the subject was 
dropped for the more vital interests of the 
moment, though by no means dismissed 


158 


Captain Polly 


from the thoughts of the sorority members. 
It would be discussed pro and con in 
private. The girls to be initiated this 
afternoon were a Sophomore and two 
Juniors. The Sophomore had recently come 
to Montgentian from a New York borough, 
where she had attended one of the largest 
public schools and would have been elected 
a member of that chapter of the Mu Phi 
Psi’s had she remained there. The secretary 
of that chapter had written to the secretary 
of the Montgentian Chapter and the matter 
was forthwith settled save for the actual 
initiation. The other girls, the Juniors, 
were Montgentian girls who thus far in 
their careers had not attained to the honor 
of membership, but during the previous 
summer “ trifles light as air ” had swayed 
popular favor in their direction and behold! 
the tide had turned. They had removed 
from a remote quarter of Montgentian to 
new homes in a fashionable locality. What 
more was needed? They were upon the 
brink of a social triumph. 

It is not necessary to follow the more 
formal proceedings of the meeting. The 
most vital ones transpired during the initia- 
tion ceremonies. By order of Miss Hob- 
son, the president of the chapter, each girl 


THe M\i PKi Psi’s Meeting 159 

had brought with her a sheet and a pillow 
case which at the conclusion of the serious 
side of the meeting she proceeded to wrap 
and pin about her, the pillow case, in which 
peep-holes and a breathing place had been 
cut, being drawn over her head. Each can- 
didate for membership followed the example 
of her exalted sisters and presently all were 
arrayed a la ghost. 

When all was ready, the president of the 
chapter said: 

“ Our first step this evening in initiating 
our new members will be our love feast. 
You have already taken your vows, and 
sworn to obey the laws of our Sorority and 
to keep its secrets. We will now partake 
of our sacred Macaronkali Ambrosia. Three 
of our older members will have the honor 
of presenting the dish to their newly-elected 
sisters, who may remove their pillow-cases 
while partaking.” 

Amidst suppressed giggles, three of the 
girls went into an adjoining room which 
had been fitted up as a kitchen, gas-range, 
refrigerator, and the whole paraphernalia 
complete, and presently returned bearing 
upon small trays three steaming bowls of a 
villainous-smelling concoction, which they 
handed to the new members. 


i6o Captain Polly 

“ You will partake of these sacred viands 
in perfect silence, and as speedily as pos- 
sible. One single sound uttered during the 
consumption of this delectable and delicious 
love-offering renders the members ineligible, 
and their membership is likely to be re- 
voked,” said the president, impressively, and 
added, “ Begin.” 

Each girl solemnly raised her bowl to her 
lips, and, as instructed, began to gulp down 
the steaming nauseous mess. Any one 
who has unexpectedly found her mouth full 
of hot soapsuds will have some idea of how 
this stuff tasted. The victims had no idea 
what it was, but they felt that upon their 
instant consumption of it rested their claim 
to membership in this great and glorious 
Sorority, and had it been a concoction of 
aloes it would have been gulped down some- 
how. In reality, it was macaroni boiled in 
brown soapsuds; the sort of soap which the 
janitress of the building used to scrub the 
floors with. Happily, the bowls were not 
large ones, and within a few minutes the 
horrible stuff had vanished. 

‘'We will now have our ghost-dance, and 
after that will follow the feast of reason and 
the flow of soul for which our Sorority 
stands. Grace, I hope, as Chairman of the 


THe M\i PHi Psi’s Meeting i6i 

Entertainment Committee you have seen to 
your part.” 

“ You may count on me for that, Miss 
President,” was the laughing reply as Grace 
vanished into the little kitchen, the other 
girls rushing to the four large windows to 
lower the green window-shades, close the 
inside blinds, and draw the heavy curtains 
in order to exclude every particle of day- 
light and instantly plunge the room into 
midnight blackness. As the last ray of the 
afternoon sunlight was excluded, a girl came 
in from the kitchen, carrying a bottle of 
alcohol and a saucer which contained a hand- 
ful of salt. Placing her saucer of salt upon 
the table, she proceeded to pour alcohol upon 
it and light it, then stood the bottle not far 
from it. Instantly the room was enveloped 
in a weird, uncanny light, the white robes 
and head coverings of the girls assuming 
odd proportions in the flame’s flickerings. 
A girl seated herself at the piano and began 
a doleful minor selection suggestive of a 
dirge, though played a little faster, perhaps. 
The president started the procession and 
all fell in line. Round and round they cir- 
cled, now here, now there, waving arms, 
swaying bodies, and voicing low moans. No 
camp-meeting of negroes in the far South 

II 


I62 


Captain Polly 


was ever better primed for emotional demon- 
strations than these seventeen girls, rang- 
ing in age from fifteen to eighteen, and all 
keyed up to a pitch which must respond to 
any influence. Gradually the music grew 
more rapid, and the swaying procession 
moved faster, their moans changing to a 
wild chant with a jargon of meaning- 
less words — ^meaningless, at least, to the 
newly-elected and duly-impressed members, 
who, truth to tell, were hardly in a condition 
to follow very clearly either the air or the 
words of the chant, for the mixture of which 
they had partaken, combined with the sway- 
ing of their bodies, had begun to get in its 
fine work. 

Faster and faster moved the revellers, 
wilder and wilder grew the chant, madder 
and madder became the music, — ^heaven save 
the mark! — played upon the long-suffering 
piano. The room at best was not over 
twenty by thirty feet by eleven high, and, 
given seventeen girls in that number of 
cubic feet of air, with every particle of ven- 
tilation shut off and the fumes of burning 
alcohol filling it, not many minutes were 
needed to so vitiate the atmosphere that very 
few could survive the tax upon lungs and 
heart. Moreover, there is inevitably one 


THe M\j PHi Psi’s Meeting 163 

fool in every gathering whether of young 
or old, and this gathering was no exception. 
This particular fool had, unfortunately, been 
the one to suggest and prepare the saucer 
of alcohol and salt, and, as though her folly 
had not gone far enough with that, she must 
needs leave the eight-ounce bottle of alcohol 
upon the table beside the blazing fluid in 
order to have it at hand to replenish her 
saucer. 

Well, the sequel is not hard to foresee. 
Netta Blackwell, the Sophomore from the 
New York borough, while whirling around 
in the mad rush grew giddy, ill, then faint as 
she passed the table; the next moment she 
swayed and staggered against it, the bottle 
tottered, fell, and the cork, carelessly in- 
serted, flew out of it; there was a report like 
a pistol-shot as the bottle of alcohol ex- 
ploded, the blazing contents scattering in 
every direction. 

With a piercing shriek Netta Blackwell 
fell to the floor unconscious, and enveloped 
in flames. In the panic which followed, 
some girls with more presence of mind and 
courage than their companions, ran to 
Netta and strove to beat out the flames 
with their hands, but the majority ran 
shrieking to the street. Happily it was just 


i 64 Captain Polly 

the hour when the shops of Montgentian 
were closing and the sidewalk was filled with 
people. 

There was no lack of willing hands, and 
in far less time than seemed possible the 
panic-stricken girls were rescued from the 
horrible fate threatening them, and cared for, 
while a dozen men rushed up to the club- 
room to aid their less fortunate sisters. 
Some one turned in a fire-alarm and some 
one else summoned an ambulance. 

Alas! there was need for it. Netta Black- 
burn would never be a member of the Mu 
Phi Psi’s, and the girl who strove so heroic- 
ally to save her would spend many tor- 
tured hour in the Montgentian Hospital. 

But let us change a subject so painful. 
That it is all true makes the tragedy the 
greater. One life was sacrificed to folly; 
another was made a burden to itself for 
years; one partaker of that love-feast of 
macaroni boiled in alkaline suds never en- 
tirely recovered from the effects of it, but 
spent her remaining days in a sanitarium, 
a victim of her schoolmates’ folly, and a 
nerve shock which might have wrecked 
nerves far older and better poised than a 
fourteen-year-ojd girl’s. 


CHAPTER XII 


OUR FLAG AND SCHOOL 

Mr. Stone’s home, some distance from 
the school, was a pretty house recently built 
in the outskirts of Montgentian. They had 
no children and perhaps for that reason had 
taken a deeper interest in other people’s. 
At all events their interest in the young 
people of Montgentian was certainly a keen 
one, and Mr. Stone had made an ideal prin- 
cipal of the high school. True he was con- 
sidered a strict disciplinarian, though the 
most prejudiced was compelled to concede 
him a just one. He had been in Montgen- 
tian first as principal of the grammar school 
and upon the opening of the High had been 
unanimously elected its principal. As many 
expressed it, he had grown up with Mont- 
gentian’s schools, and in one sense he had, 
for he came to the town a young man fresh 
from Yale’s campus. Not long afterward 
he married a very charming New Haven 
165 


i66 


Captain Polly 


girl, and as time passed on she became as 
deeply interested in the school and all per- 
taining to it as her enthusiastic husband. 
Naturally, such mutual interest made for 
success, and even though Mrs. Stone’s share 
of the work was never noised abroad, Mr. 
Stone invariably spoke of her as the “ lady 
behind the gun,” though said lady gave small 
hint of a combative spirit, her policy being 
wholly pacific. The high school had been 
open a little over five years and was pros- 
pering amazingly, only one shadow lying 
upon Mr. Stone’s satisfaction in the process 
of development, but this shadow had in- 
creased rapidly, growing, as time went on, 
more and more ominous. To a casual on- 
looker it hardly seemed a shadow perhaps, 
and a few would have scoffed at the idea of 
it being called one at all. Indeed had those 
individuals been consulted, they would un- 
doubtedly have pronounced it a high light; 
that it was a lime-light made no difference 
whatever, it was the light which counted. 
But to more far-seeing people, and among 
these were Mr. and Mrs. Stone, it was a 
very artificial light indeed and one very 
likely to hopelessly dazzle and blind some 
youthful eyes. 

Soon after the high school was opened 


Our Flag and ScKool 167 

Greek-letter societies began to spring into 
existence. The first was established by the 
boys, and called the Delta Zeta Eta. 

It did not seem alarming and attracted 
very little attention until the girls, not to 
be outdone by their masculine companions, 
began to wake up and take notice, and then 
the Mu Phi Psi’s sprang into existence too, 
and a rivalry forthwith began. The boys 
would not admit it to he a rivalry, but with 
each advance made by their co-eds, who were 
determined if possible to go their brothers 
one better every time those same brothers 
opened up a notch or two and sped onward, 
until it became a nip-and-tuck rivalry. 
Then, to add to Mr. Stone’s dismay, two 
more societies leaped fully armed into the 
field and things began to hum. Mr. Stone 
did his best to combat their growth, even 
going to the parents in some cases, especially 
those whose infiuence in the community he 
felt would have weight, to urge their co- 
operation in stamping out an order of things 
which he foresaw must inevitably prove det- 
rimental to the best interests of the school, 
if, indeed, not utterly disrupting. His corps 
of instructors were wholly in sympathy 
with his view of the situation, and so were 
the school trustees when the matter was put 


i68 


Captain Polly 


clearly before them, but the rock upon which 
his most strenuous efforts split was — the 
mothers. 

There are mothers and mothers in this 
world. Some wise and far-seeing; some 
foolish and short-sighted. Montgentian 
held both types. 

The short-sighted ones saw nothing in the 
sororities but an opportunity for a royal 
good time and social distinction. One 
mamma, the one who rented the rooms for 
the Mu Phi Psi’s, had found considerable 
difficulty in making social headway in Mont- 
gentian. She had money, “barrelfuls of 
it,” to quote a Delta Zeta Eta, but somehow 
social success in Montgentian did not rest 
on barrels and mamma did not obtain. 

But a most alluring opening presented 
itself in an unlooked-for quarter. Her 
daughter was asked to join the Mu Phi 
Psi’s. Of course, if daughter became a 
member she would know so-and-so, and so- 
and-so, and mamma’s entering wedge was 
inserted. Brilliant thought! Mamma did 
all in her power to boom the Mu Phi Psi 
movement. 

But there were mothers with different 
views. 

Not long after the Mu Phi Psi began to 


0 \ir Flag and ScKool 169 

bourgeon and flourish, a distracted mother 
called upon Mr. Stone to implore his aid. 

“Can’t you help me in this crisis?” she 
asked. 

“ I shall he glad to do so if possible,” 
answered that beset man. “ Heaven knows 
I would gladly see every Greek-letter so- 
ciety in this school disbanded. They are 
doing more harm than any one suspects.” 

“Will you talk earnestly to Katherine? 
She has been nominated for membership and 
I would give almost anything rather than 
have her become a member. I feel it would 
he most harmful in every way. In the first 
place, it encourages extravagant ideas which 
we can ill afford, and exclusive ones which 
are absurd.” 

“How old is Katherine?” asked Mr. 
Stone. 

“ Just fifteen.” 

“ Then why not forbid her to become a 
member. It seems to me she has not lived 
beyond the forbidable age,” and Mr. Stone’s 
fine mouth was curved with a smile. 

“Forbid! Forbid! Why, I have for- 
bidden until I am exhausted, but she just 
will join.” 

Mr. Stone shrugged his shoulders. 

“ Then I am afraid my word will have 


170 


Captain Polly 


very little weight.” Nor did it. Kath- 
erine was elected a member. 

Mr. Stone sat thinking of this interview 
as he awaited the arrival of Ralph and Polly 
this afternoon. It was not quite three 
o’clock, and the broad sheltered piazza was 
a delightful place whereon to enjoy his after- 
luncheon cigar. His thoughts were busy 
with the subject to be discussed by his visit- 
ors, for he had carefully read the paper 
prepared by them. And though he had 
smiled more than once during the reading 
and had once murmured, “ How truly 
Polyesque!” he quickly grasped the idea and 
was prepared to endorse it when they hurried 
up the pretty flower-bordered walk. 

Mr. Stone in his office at the high school 
was one individual, and Mr. Stone as host in 
his own charming house quite another. In 
the former he was compelled to maintain a 
dignity and reserve which nothing could 
break down, for there were a good many 
pupils who would have been only too glad 
to take advantage of any encouragement to 
familiarity. Indeed, in the earlier years of 
his career in Montgentian, Mr. Stone had 
met with an experience at the hand of an 
emotional young miss which taught him to 
beware of such. It was all very funny from 


0\ir Flag and ScHool 171 

one view-point, but might have been exceed- 
ingly unpleasant for the newly-established 
principal had he been a less tactful man. 
It taught him a lesson, however, which 
he never forgot, and the scene was never 
repeated. 

Polly was the first to reach the top of 
the steps, and advancing with her usual 
frankness, held out her hand, which Mr. 
Stone grasped warmly as he said: 

“ On time to the second, Pollykins. How 
are you, little girl? ” 

“ Fine as a fiddle, Mr. Stone, but out of 
breath from hurrying. We were afraid 
we ’d be late.” 

“ Not half a minute. How are you, Wil- 
bur? ” and a cordial hand was extended to 
Ralph. “ I Ve been reading that paper and 
I ’m keen to hear more of all this scheme. 
Come and sit down.” 

He led the way to his pet corner, and 
taking up the paper which lay upon the 
pretty wicker piazza table, seated himself 
in a comfortable porch chair, motioning his 
visitors to others. 

A swinging settee hung close by and 
springing into it Polly said: 

“ If you don’t mind, Mr. Stone, I ’ll sit 
here. I can think quicker when I swing.” 


172 


Captain Polly 


‘‘ Perpetual motion, Polly? Body and 
brains both in action.” 

“ I guess so,” smiled Polly. “ Mother 
says the only time I am still is when I ’m 
in bed asleep, and then I ’m like a log.” 

Ralph drew his chair to the table, and 
resting his elbows upon it, dropped his chin 
into his hands and sat looking expectantly 
at Mr. Stone. 

“ Now before we begin to talk I want to 
have this understanding, and I want it to 
hold, bear in mind, or we may as well quit 
before we begin. That smacks of Erin, but 
it smacks true as well. I am interested in 
this matter as I have said, and I want to 
understand it fully and talk it over freely 
with you, and there is only one way in which 
we can do this: Will you both forget for 
the time being that I am the principal of 
the High and just talk man to man — oh, no, 
that won’t do, will it? Well, woman to 
woman. No, that ’s worse yet. How shall 
we straighten it out?” and Mr. Stone 
laughed his infectious laugh. 

“ Shall I tell you? ” and Polly’s laugh 
echoed Mr. Stone’s as she gave a little 
bounce which caused the chains suspending 
her swinging seat to jingle. 

“ Don’t lose a minute.” 


0\ir ria^ and ScHool 


173 


“ Let us call you ‘ Uncle Stone,’ just as 
I used to when I was little. Not always, 
of course, but just now. Then we ’ll for- 
get all about your being a grown-up and 
that you are somebody we both ought to be 
scared to death of, though we aren’t one 
bit,” and Polly wagged her curly mop as 
though admitting a serious shortcoming. 

“ It ’s a bargain! Come on. Now let ’s 
get busy.” 

Mr. Stone opened the paper he held and 
began to read from it. Presently he said: 

“ I think I have gathered a pretty clear 
idea of what you both have in mind and it ’s 
a plan I can heartily indorse, but you are 
going to run up against a pretty stiff pro- 
position with the fraternities and the soro- 
rities, I ’m afraid. How is it that neither 
of you belong to those ? ” 

Polly’s eyes narrowed, and Ralph colored. 
Mr. Stone was not slow. 

“ Hum. Well, you need not answer if 
you don’t want to; I’ll do a little Yankee 
guessing. Maybe a rival club will be 
wholesome. Now as Z take it, this is only 
a new form of honor system in the school, 
and it is exactly what we need. Combined 
with the honor will be a good bit of fun, and 
that is a combination likely to work out 


174 Captain Polly 

pretty good results: No honor, no fun, 
eh?” 

“ Yes, that is part of it sure enough, but 
there ’s lots more, don’t you think so? ” said 
Ralph eagerly. < 

“ Yes, a good deal more. But how do 
you propose to secure your charter mem- 
bers? ” 

“ Ralph is to ask five boys, and I ’m to 
ask five girls, and that will give us a dozen 
to start with. The only trouble is we have 
no meeting-place. Ralph’s apartment is too 
small, and my house is so far away,” argued 
Polly. 

“If we could get our members well in 
hand we might have a room somewhere just 
like the Frats, but that, of course, means 
money to start with and we have n’t a red 
cent. We want to begin right, and not 
slump down after we’ve begun, for if we 
did all the others would have the laugh on 
us, and, by cracky, we could n’t stand that 
a minute.” 

“ There ’ll be no laugh if I can prevent it, 
but I don’t want to appear too prominently 
in the foreground of all this, or I ’d queer it 
sure,” said Mr. Stone, falling unconsciously 
into his hearers’ vernacular. “ N ow, this is my 
suggestion : Y ou can’t possibly get together 


Our Flag and ScHool 175 

until you all have a place to get together 
in, and it must be a place accessible to all. 
Polly is right; her home is too far away, and 
Ralph’s mother is too tired when night comes 
to be bothered with a lot of rampaging 
young people even if her apartment were 
large enough to hold them. So how about 
using the Board Room down at the school? ” 

“ The Board Room! ” exclaimed the duo. 

Mr. Stone nodded. “ I think I can ar- 
range it for you, and with only a few con- 
ditions. If you are careful to observe them, 
there ’ll be no trouble, I ’m sure. If you 
are not careful, — well, I see the finish of 
— by-the-way, what is this club to be 
called? ” 

“We thought this would be a good name, 
and then use just the letters as the Frats 
do: Pro Vexillo Scholaque. What do you 
think of it, sir? You see we do want it 
for our flag and school. Somehow we never 
thought much about the flag until Mr. 
Hunter came here, at least I did n’t, though 
Polly always has.” 

“ But a lot more since brother Snap was 
with us,” broke in Polly. “ Yes, I like 
Ralph’s idea. Do you?” 

“ Exceedingly. It means something, 
which is more than can be said of this Greek- 


176 


Captain Polly 


letter nonsense. That fever has broken 
out with renewed virulence this fall, and I 
foresee trouble. I ’m glad you two have 
fought shy, because I ’ll tell you right now 
there is bound to be trouble of some sort 
before long, and it is coming from the so- 
rorities first — ^beg your pardon, Polly, but 
that is the truth. The boys have done some 
mighty foolish things, but the girls have done 
worse, and the last freak is the silliest of all.” 

His hearers looked up expectantly. 

“ Don’t you know anything of it? ” 

“Not a single thing,” said Polly, em- 
phatically. 

“ Well, the very latest, I believe, lays an 
embargo upon the High lunch-counter. 
Any member of the Mu Phi Psi’s or Alpha 
Gamma’s seen taking her luncheon there 
may as well be resigned to her fate; she is 
out of the running with the ‘ smart set ’ ; 
they lunch at Ramsdell’s on messes cal- 
culated to kill a perfectly healthy ostrich. 
The lunch-counter at the High, run by Mrs. 
Thomas, is run well. Everything she serves 
is wholesome, her terms are reasonable, and 
she needs the income it yields her. By 
George! to hear a lot of little chits take a 
high and mighty stand because the counter 
is in the basement — that is one of their 


0 \ir i'lag and ScHool 177 

grievances, I believe — and another lies in the 
appalling fact that all may patronize it, 
rather than the exclusive few of their own 
set — just naturally sets my teeth on edge 
and makes me want to — well, I ’m a model 
school principal and I dare say I must not 
admit what I want to do,” and Mr. Stone 
stopped suddenly, but Polly’s laugh rang 
out across the lawn. 

“ If you are anything like brother Snap, 
and I guess most men are pretty much 
alike,” was her sage comment, ‘‘ I know 
just exactly what those things make you 
want to do. It ’s lucky I ’m a girl and no 
mistake.” 

“You are a pretty good safety-valve, 
Polly. Better use her for one, Ralph.” 

“ I have, oftener than you guess,” an- 
swered Ralph, with an odd smile. Then he 
added: “But there are some things I 
would like to ask you, though I ’m afraid we 
are taking up a lot of your time.” 

“Get busy, both of you; the time until 
four-thirty is yours.” 

For a half hour the young voices and the 
older one talked earnestly, and at the end 
of it a mutual sense of satisfaction rested 
upon the trio. Then a voice in the door- 
way said: 


12 


178 


Captain Polly 

“ Do you people intend to sit out there 
until sunset? Come in here this minute. 
There is just time for a snack before I send 
the young people home and carry the old 
gentleman off for our private frolic.” 

“ Old gentleman! I like that. If you 
consider thirty-nine old for a man, what do 
you consider ” 

“ Hush, this instant, you incorrigible 
man! If you tell Ralph and Polly my age 
I ’ll never forgive you.” 

Mr. Stone chuckled and winked. “ I 
was n’t going to, but I threw a scare into 
her, did n’t I? Hi! I went you one better 
there^ old lady! ” 

“ She is n't old, and she is lovely,” cried 
Polly, running to throw her arms about the 
principal’s pretty wife, for “ Aunty Stone ” 
would never be anything but Aunty Stone 
to Polly. “ I know exactly how old she is 
because she told me ever so long ago, 
and twenty-nine is young! Mother says 
so.” 

“ Polly, you are, — ^well you are a very 
truthful young lady. Come and eat your 
cakes and drink your hot chocolate.” 

“ Oh, will we! ” cried Polly. “ Ralph, I 
don’t believe you ’ve ever tasted Aunty 
Stone’s hot chocolate. You have missed a 


0\jr Flag and ScKool 179 

lot; so come and make up for the missing.” 
Polly was as much at home with Mrs. Stone 
as in her own house, but Polly was pretty 
much at home anywhere, and Ralph, though 
reserved for a boy of his age, was never self- 
conscious. As they sat enjoying the little 
feast which Mrs. Stone had prepared for 
them, her lord and master doing ample jus- 
tice to his share, she said : 

I ’m just as much interested in this 
scheme as Gordon — I mean Mr. Stone — ^is, 
and if, when you get everything in running 
order, you ever need a chaperone, or patron- 
ess, or whatever this new organization 
elects to name her, I hope you will not 
forget me.” 

“ Oh, Aunty Stone, will you really, 
truly? ” cried Polly, bouncing up to rim to 
Mrs. Stone and clasp her arms about her, 
and look into her eyes with Polly’s own 
irresistible glance. 

“Just you try me, my girlie I” was the 
hearty response. 

Very little more was said regarding the 
plan, and shortly Polly and Ralph bade their 
host and hostess farewell and started home- 
ward. As they turned into the main street 
the ambulance passed them, the horses on a 
wild gallop. 


i8o Captain Polly 

“ Goodness ! I wonder who has been 
hurt? ” exclaimed Polly. 

“Hi! Look yonder, quick! There’s 
smoke coming from Scott’s drug store. 
The place is afire and some one has been 
hurt, I ’ll bet! Come on, Polly! ” and Ralph 
broke away at a wild pace, Polly neck to 
neck with him. 


CHAPTER XIII 


A MESSAGE FROM OVER THE SEA 

October had passed and November, with 
its “ wailing winds and wintry woods, and 
meadows brown and sear” was well ad- 
vanced. For many days after the terrible 
tragedy of that fatal October afternoon a 
gloom hung over the pretty town and espe- 
cially over the high school. Although 
Netta Bla^lA uiii had but recently come to 
Montgemian, the family was well known 
and had many friends there, and the tragic 
death of its eldest daughter brought deep 
sorrow to all. Of the two Juniors who were 
present that afternoon one was forced to 
drop from the school ranks forever; the other 
to spend two wretched weeks recovering 
from the effects of the initiation rites, and 
the girl who strove to rescue Netta Bla^- 
burn would bear the scars of her brave 
efforts as long as she lived. 

It need hardly be added that the feeling 
became intense, though, strange as it may 

i8i 


Captain Polly 


182 

seem, there were some parents who sided 
with the sororities and fraternities, declar- 
ing that the accident might have befallen 
almost any gathering of frolicking, heed- 
less girls. Perhaps it would be more ac- 
curate to use the word “ mothers ” in place 
of parents, since, with a very few exceptions, 
the fathers were either quite indifferent to 
the affairs pertaining to high-school life, or, 
if a few thought of them at all, it was with 
an indulgent smile for “the kids’ doings,” 
or a frown for “ the kids’ ” demands upon 
the purse of paterfamilias. But there were 
several ambitious mammas who, while duly 
horror-stricken at the calamity which had 
overtaken the school, saw no reason for the 
stand which Mr. Stone, in common with 
many of the parents, immediately took. Al- 
ways in strong opposition to the Greek- 
letter societies, at this crisis he made a 
desperate attempt to stamp them out com- 
pletely. Alack! he little realized their 
strength, or the proportions which the so- 
cieties had assumed. Poor Gulliver, beset by 
the Lilliputians, was hardly more powerless, 
notwithstanding that Mr. Stone had allies 
where poor Gulliver had none, but as far 
as his allies were concerned, Mr. Stone 
would have fought a losing battle had not 


i\ Message from Over tHe Sea 183 

aid come from a most unlooked for quarter, 
and to his surprise his confederates proved 
to be Lilliputians also. 

When the excitement and horror incident 
to that sunny afternoon had in a measure 
subsided, Ralph and Polly began to collect 
their scattered wits and set about crystal- 
lizing their plans for a club. True to his 
word, Mr. Stone had one of the School 
Board rooms placed at their disposal, and 
the third Friday in November the prospec- 
tive club members assembled therein. There 
were, as Polly had hoped there would be, 
twelve to make a beginning, and Polly’s soul 
was filled with trepidation when she found 
that upon her devolved the duty of explain- 
ing the aim and object of the club. 

On their way to the school, she and Ralph 
had carried on a lively discussion concerning 
this. 

“Not on your life!” cried Ralph when 
Polly strove to place the honor upon his 
shoulders. 

“ But you are the man and the oldest/^ 

“ Don’t care a cent if I am. If it were 
a club just for us fellows, I ’d get up and 
spiel it all off forty to the minute, but with 
six girls all glaring — or giggling at me — • 
well, I ’m a quitter before I start, and that ’s 


Captain Polly 


184 

straight. I Ve nothing against the girls, 
and especially these girls, for you picked 
them out of the bunch and you Ve picked a 
good lot, — Betty Stark ’s a corker, and Olive 
Powell is a peach, but — well — nuf said! 
Y ou can have your little solo all to yourself.” 

They found all ten present upon their 
arrival, for curiosity was at fever heat and 
none had delayed a moment ; Ralph’s friends, 
among them Harry Hull, Jack Brownell, 
and Carroll Stewart, were on hand, and as 
Polly and Ralph entered the big room they 
were greeted with a shout of welcome. 

Come on quick, we Ve been waiting 
hours to hear what it is all about! You 
may know, but we don’t, please bear in 
mind.” 

“ Hustle, Wilbur, what do you think we 
are, — wooden Indians?” 

Ralph quickly removed his cap and reefer, 
pitching them upon a nearby chair, while 
Polly shook herself out of her coat and, re- 
moving one pin, flopped the soft gray felt 
hat from her bright crown; Polly could not 
be bothered with more than one hat pin. 

“ Now, people,” she began, “ Ralph and 
I have almost come to blows on our way 
down here, because each of us wants the 
other fellow — I mean other one — to tell 


A Message from Over tHe Sea 185 

about this plan, but it is no use getting 
snarled up right at the beginning. To tell 
the truth I hardly know where to begin, and 
I Ve nearly gone crazy trying to think it 
all out and make it plain. Of course we 
don’t want to run the other societies in any 
way, but we want ours to stand all by and 
for itself and have no connection with the 
sororities or fraternities. jMaybe I should 
not say so, and I beg your pardon right 
now if I hurt anybody’s feelings, for I know 
some of you already belong to the societies, 
but there are some things about them I don’t 
like and I would not stand for a single min- 
ute. Of course I can’t say you all must not 
belong to them if you belong to ours too, 
for that is your own business, only I do 
hope you ’ll — well, cut out some of the ideas 
they have. Mrs. Stone has offered to help 
us in any way she can and Mr. Stone will 
stand by us too if we just keep our senses. 
Now, first and foremost, let us agree to 
stand together for three big things, and I 
don’t think I can make you understand 
what these are half as well as a letter I 
have just had from brother Snap can make 
you. You know he is on the Rhode Island 
and he has been mighty good about writing 
to me.” 


Captain Polly 


1 86 

“ Me too ! ” interrupted Ralph. ‘‘ Cork- 
ing letters, you bet ! ” 

Polly nodded and continued. “ This let- 
ter only came yesterday, and it sort of seems 
as though it had been meant for this after- 
noon. May I read it? ” 

“Of course!” “Oh, do!” “Yes, 
please ! ” “ Sail in, Polly ! ” “ Get busy ! ” 

were some of the characteristic responses. 

“ You know he has been away over four 
months now, more than half the time he is 
to be gone, and they have been to Honolulu, 
New Zealand, Australia, and Manila, and 
seen wonderful sights. This letter was 
written at sea, but mailed at Yokohama, 
and it has taken it all this time to reach me. 
I wish I had time to read it all to you, but 
it would take too long, for it is just a 
bouncer, but this is the part I particularly 
want you to hear. 

“ ‘ I often think of you and Ralph while 
way out here with leagues and leagues of 
water tossing between us, and I make little 
dream-pictures of what you are doing at 
certain hours. At the morning call for 
Colors I can see Polly flying out to the flag- 
staff with Old Glory tucked under her arm, 
and perhaps Ralph is there too, though I 
doubt it this time of the year, and school 


A Message from Over tHe Sea 187 

work just a-humming. He would n’t be 
able to get way up there for morning call, 
though I ’ll bet my best mess-jacket he will 
be on hand for evening call. I ’m mighty 
glad we doped out that plan, little sister, 
for it ’s a heap bigger one than either of 
you people, safe back there in God’s coun- 
try, have any idea. You ’ve got to get way 
out here at the back of beyond and no- 
where, before you can form the faintest idea 
of what Old Glory stands for. I thought 
I ’d graduated in that knowledge, but I know 
now just how much I did n’t know. Why, 
Polly, wherever these big steel boats poke 
their noses people just go crazy, and when 
they see our Stars and Stripes, or hear the 
‘‘ Star-Spangled Banner ” played, they go 
nearly wild with joy and enthusiasm. Can 
you picture any of our people growing so 
enthusiastic over the flag, or national air 
of any other country? Well, I guess not! 
Maybe our bump of reverence is not so big 
as the bumps on the noddles of the people 
of other lands ; we are sort of deflcient in that 
direction, and since getting out here I ’ve 
questioned more than once whether we have 
any such bumps at all, — if they are n’t de- 
pressive instead. We don’t enthuse worth 
a cent most or much, do we? Well, we ’d 


Captain Polly 


1 88 

better get busy, let me tell you, for after 
seeing the reverence paid our flag by the 
Hawaiians, the Australians, especially the 
natives of Australia, some of them half- 
naked savages, I begin to feel like a counter- 
feit quarter and a lead nickel. 

“‘And the little Japs, Polly! You 
should see them — even the poorest, and 
when we over there in Yankee-land say 
“ poor ” we just don’t know the meaning of 
the word, but when I get back I ’ll tell you 
a few things to make your eyes even bigger 
than they are now, and they are pretty big 
too, but it is too long a story to write, so 
I ’ll say just this, the poorest little toddling 
Jap would gladly go hungry for the sake 
of having a tiny American flag all for his, 
or her, very own, and every last, slant-eyed 
little tad has got one and waves it, and 
shrieks, “Banzai!” until all the wind is 
pumped clean out of his little pumping ma- 
chine. It has all made a lot of us sit up 
and take notice. Captain, and do you under- 
stand why? Just because those red and 
white stripes and that star-sprinkled blue 
square stand for our country, our homes 
{I've got one now to think about, honey, 
and I thought hard just then) , liberty, free- 
dom, and the right to do as we see fit, and 


A. Message from Over tKe Sea 189 

come and go exactly as we please. It ’s a 
great old flag, Polly! Stick to it! Swear 
by it! Look at it every morning of your 
life, and every evening when you lower 
away out there on the terrace think what it 
has made possible for every one of us, and 
is doing for brother Snap right now. 

“ ‘ And now one more thing before I pipe 
down: In about one hundred and twenty- 
five days (count it by days for it seems to 
go a lot faster if you do) we will be sailing 
back to old Hampton Roads, as crazy a lot 
of men at the thought of what lies at that 
end of the cruise as were ever gathered into 
sixteen battle-ships. And, Polly, you and 
Ralph have got to be right on deck to see 
that sight, do you know that? Sure thing! 
And I wish mighty well that a good many 
about your age could be there too, for it 
will be a sight worth seeing and one you ’d 
never forget as long as you lived, to say 
nothing of a liberal education, for you ’d see 
and learn more in one week down there at 
that time than a dozen text-books could 
teach you all in a dozen weeks. Now get 
busy and plan it out! I know that a body 
can’t twirl around on his heel without “ bang 
going saxpence,” as our brother Sandy says, 
and I know, too, that “ saxpences ” don’t 


Captain Polly 


190 

grow on bushes, either with you orRalph, and 
the bush Ralph used to have got frosted, poor 
chap, but here is a little scheme of mine: 
Can’t you two start up a little club or some- 
thing, even if there are only a dozen or so 
members, and do something to get together 
enough money for the bunch to come down 
to Hampton Roads for a week? Carissima, 
Connie, and Gail will come of course, and 
you. Captain, are coming with them unless 
they want me to do things they never 
dreamed me capable of doing, but I want 
a whole bimch of you, and if I don’t some- 
how manage to give you all the time of 
your lives I ’ll ask why. Think it over, 
Captain, and here is a little nest egg for 
a starter. I wish I could make it an os- 
trich egg, but my ostrich farm never 
amounted to much; as a poultry raiser 1 
was never any good; I ’m afraid my only 
successful crop was wild oats. But of this 
egg. 

“ ‘ Put it in the bank and see what you 
can do to add to it. Later I ’m going to 
send another one. Meanwhile write to me 
what you think of my little plan. I ’m keen 
to know.’ ” 

Polly stopped reading, her heart beating 
with combined hope and doubt, but the latter 


A Message from Over tHe Sea 191 

was speedily dispelled, for with one accord 
her hearers rose to their feet crying: 

“ Hurrah for Mr. Hunter! Three cheers 
everybody 1 ” until the room resounded. 

“ I ’m so glad you all approve,” cried 
Polly, whose most sanguine expectations 
were far outstripped by the reception of her 
little speech, “ and I really think we can do 
it. Of course, we would have tried to form 
our Club just the same, but don’t you think 
this is a bigger, bigger — Ralph, what ’s the 
word I want in there? ” 

“ Guess you mean ‘ incentive,’ ” answered 
Ralph, coloring. 

“ Yes, thanks, that is it,” resumed Polly, 
not half as fussed at her inability to com- 
mand on the instant the word she wished to 
use, as Ralph was to supply it — “ incentive 
to get together and to work for something we 
want very much than any we could possibly 
have? So, if you all agree, we will begin 
our plans right now. It seems to me our 
first step is to elect a president, a vice- 
president, a secretary, and a treasurer. 
That means four out of the twelve here. 
Shall we get busy right now and cast our 
votes first for the nominees then for the 
elections? ” 

Consent being unanimous, no time was 


192 


Captain Polly 


lost in writing upon little slips of paper the 
names of the nominees. These were dropped 
into Ralph’s midshipman’s cap as the most 
appropriate receptacle, and carried by him 
to the table at which Polly stood, Ralph then 
going to the blackboard to post the names 
as Polly read them off. 

“ Jack Brownell.” 

Ralph duly wrote the name. 

“ Betty Stark.” 

“ Polly Howland.” 

“ Ralph Wilbur.” 

“ Polly Howland.” 

“ Harry Hull.” 

“ Betty Stark.” 

“ Polly Howland.” 

“ Ralph Wilbur.” 

“ Harry Hull.” 

“ Polly Howland.” 

“ Ralph Wilbur.” 
completed the list. 

“ Shall I post them according to their 
numbers? ” asked Ralph. 

“ Yes,” answered Polly. 

Polly Howland — 4 

Ralph Wilbur — 3 

Harry Hull — 2 


A Message from Over tHe Sea 195 


Betty Stark — 2 
J ack Brownell — 1 

“ Now, we will take our vote and elect 
our officers, and there is something else I 
wish you would all do when you write the 
names. You know we want to have this 
just a little different from other clubs be- 
cause its object is so different. Shall we 
call our officers president, vice-president, 
etc., or shall we use other terms? So far 
as I am concerned, I know just what I would 
like the head of this Club to be called, but 
I don’t know how the others may feel about 
it. So please write it on your slips.” 

For five minutes there was no other sound 
than the scribbling pencils to be heard, then 
Polly asked: 

“ Is every one ready? ” 

“ Yes.” 

Once more Ralph’s cap did duty and he 
carried it to the table and handed it to 
Polly, but this time Polly backed down 
ignominiously. Shaking her head, she said: 

“No, I won’t read them! Come up here, 
Harry, and read the names as Ralph takes 
the slips from the cap.” 

Harry came quickly forward, and, taking 
the slips Ralph held toward him, read: 

13 


194 Captain Polly 

1 “ For Chief, Betty Stark.” 

2 “ For Captain, Polly Howland.” 

3 “ For Captain, Ralph Wilbur.” 

4 ‘‘ For President, Harry Hull.” 

5 “ For Captain, Ralph Wilbur.” 

6 ‘‘ For Leader, Polly Howland.” 

7 ‘‘ For Head, Jack Brownell.” 

8 “ For Captain, Polly Howland.” 

9 “ For Commander, Harry Hull.” 

10 “ For President, Ralph Wilbur.” 

11 “ For Captain, Polly Howland.” 

12 “ For Commodore, Polly Howland.” 

At the end of this reading the room was 
in a gale, for hardly any two had used the 
same term, and certainly some were amusing. 

When the laugh had subsided the names 
were again posted upon the board. They 
read: 


Polly Howland’s votes 5 

Ralph Wilbur’s “ 8 

Harry Hull’s “ 2 

Betty Stark’s vote 1 
Jack Brownell’s “ 1 

Polly gave one glance and collapsed into 
a near-by chair, her face the picture of 
consternation. 

“ What ’s the matter, Polly? ” laughed 


A Message from Over tKe Sea 195 


Harry; “ you don’t seem to appreciate your 
honor.” 

“But what — ^what am I?” asked Polly. 
“ Must I be a Captain, a Leader, or a Com- 
modore? You’ve got me up there for all 
three! ” 

“And me for a Captain or a President! 
Hello, Chief Betty! Got your tomahawk 
ready? My goodness, but we are sure 
enough a mixed company! Guess we’d 
better vote on our titles of office now. What 
do you say, people? ” 

“ Let ’s make her Captain Polly right off. 
That ’s the best of all, because that ’s what 
she ’s been ever since Mr. Hunter was here. 
I, for one, say, ‘ Three cheers for Captain 
Polly Howland, Chief, Leader, and Com- 
mander all in one, and three more for Ralph 
Wilbur, Commander! ’ ” 

The cheers were given with a will, and 
before they died away Ralph turned to say: 
“And now three more for Harry Hull, 
Lieutenant-Commander and Treasurer, and 
for Betty Stark, Lieutenant and Treas- 
urer! ” 

Again the young voices filled the room. 
Then Polly recovered her poise, and with a 
pretty dignity rose and stepping close to 
the table said: 


196 


Captain Polly 


“ Perhaps you won’t all agree .with me, 
and I may be wrong, but it seems to me 
brother Snap has given us our object for 
the club. First our flag, which he wishes 
us to learn to love and to honor. Second, 
our school, for which he wants us to work 
and do all in our power to make it the very 
best ever; to make it something we shall re- 
member as long as we live, and recall with 
loving memory when we have grown to be 
men and women. And third, our friend- 
ship; as brother Snap calls it, our fellow- 
ship. In one part of his letter, he says: 

‘ Whatever you do, stick together! If you 
don’t, you might as well give up the idea 
of a club. Stand for unity of thought and 
action. If you elect a leader, stand by him, 
or her, loyally. If situations arise which 
are hard to handle, take a vote and settle it 
by that vote and abide by the settlement, 
OBe too big to let small things trouble you, 
and too strong in your concerted action to 
let outside or individual influences disrupt 
you. Be true to each other and you ’ll be 
true to all the world. And, Captain, listen 
to this, it may not strike you very forcibly 
at first, but I want you to let it sink in, be- 
cause it ’s all true, and it is what is needed 
a lot: Connie lives it every day of her life; 


A Message from Over tKe Sea 197 


she does n’t know she does, but that is why 
she is what she is. Try to live by a boy’s 
and a man’s standards of truth and justice, 
and help your girl friends to do this too. 
Now, maybe you think I ’m reaching about 
a mile beyond me to find my hat-brim and 
your girl friends will want to jump on me 
and stamp me flatter than a pancake, but it’s 
all true. Captain. The average girl, or 
woman, lets a personal vote enter into all 
she thinks and says, and is intolerant of the 
other fellow’s point of view. She won’t 
stand for her own conviction if she thinks 
she is going to be criticised, or somebody is 
going to say: “How could you!” Con- 
ventions are right good things, and the 
charts by which we navigate, but now and 
again we have to go on dead reckoning, 
Pollykins, for sometimes charts are at fault 
owing to shifting sands or — maybe — even 
subterranean upheavals. And it ’s just at 
such a crisis that the best captain uses his 
good, plain common-sense, — call it horse- 
sense, or gumption, if you like those terms 
better. Maybe you will want to give me 
the biggest raking over the coals I ever 
got for writing all this, but please wait 
imtil I get home, and meanwhile start 
the Club, get all going, and come down 


198 Captain Polly 

to Hampton Roads to welcome brother 
Snap.’ ” 

Polly paused for a moment, and for an- 
other her listeners were silent. Then 
Harry Hull sprang to his feet, and said in 
a tone which carried conviction: 

“That’s all to the good! Every single 
word of it! Mr. Himter is exactly right — 
I beg your pardon, girls! No disrespect 
intended, — ^but I mean he is right about 
sticking to each other and all that. You 
may be all right, you girls,” — a smile hinted 
Harry’s private opinion. “ I ’m not going 
to get myself into hot water by airing my 
opinion, and I ’m ready to admit, too, that 
some of us fellows could profit by those 
same hints, and I would n’t have missed hear- 
ing them for a good deal, but if all of us, fel- 
lows and girls too, will just adopt these 
standards and stick to ’em we will win out 
sure. What do you say, Ralph ? ” 

“ I say you are dead right, and I propose 
that our Secretary shall draw up a set of 
resolutions embodying all this and also any 
hints she has to offer. Then we can take 
another vote and revise and amend if we 
think best. What do you say, Polly? ” 

“ I think it is all good sound sense, but 
there is just one thing I ’d like to say before 


Message from Over tKe Sea 199 

we break up. None of us knows the first 
thing about parliamentary procedure, or 
laws, or whatever the grown-ups call them, 
and if we try to run our Club by them it is 
all going to seem silly and affected. Still 
we must have some rules, and we must stick 
to them, — Betty will plan that all out when 
she writes them for our next meeting. Have 
you thought of a day to meet? Don’t you 
think Friday afternoon is the best? We are 
all free then. Those who agree to this 
please say ‘ Aye those who oppose, ‘ No.’ ” 

“Ayes!” came from all sides, without a 
single nay. 

“Good! Then we’ll meet next Friday 
afternoon at three o’clock and we ’ll get 
everything in shape for the real work or 
fun of the Club. And there ’s just one thing 
more I ’d like to say, though I ’m not much 
use when it comes to pretty speeches, I ’m 
afraid, but I do want you all to understand 
how much I appreciate the honor you ’ve 
done me in electing me Captain, and I ’ll 
do my very best to be a good one, and to 
live up to the honor, because I know it is 
a real one, and that our Club, if only a boys’ 
and girls’, can stand for a lot if we ’ll only 
resolve to make it.” 

Polly was fiushed and her eyes were 


200 


Captain Polly 


shining like twin stars as she ceased speak- 
ing, and with a dignified little bow drew 
back from the table and walked toward her 
schoolmates. 


CHAPTER XIV 


AT CHRISTMAS-TIDE 

The weeks which followed the organiza- 
tion of the Pro Vexillo Scholaque Club were 
the busiest the pupils of the Montgentian 
High School had ever known. 

The Friday following the initial meeting 
the twelve members gathered once more in 
the Board Room and after two hustling 
hours blocked out their plans. Betty Stark 
had proved their faith in her executive abil- 
ity by drawing up a very concise outline of 
the activities upon which the Club would 
enter, and had suggested committees and a 
chairman for each department. As there 
were only twelve members the activities 
would necessarily be limited for a time, but 
the news of the Club had spread like wild- 
fire, and at a moment when conditions were 
ripe for radical changes and a more sane 
outlook for the high school’s affairs. 

It soon became known that Polly, Ralph, 
Harry, and Betty were likely to prove a 
201 


202 


Captain Polly 


power in the school world, and a power 
backed up by the strongest possible back- 
ing, — Mr. and Mrs. Stone, and some of the 
best-known families in the town. It was 
surprising to discover the number of fra- 
ternity and sorority members who sought 
out the “ Original Twelve,” as they were 
promptly named, and manifested the live- 
liest interest in their doings. Not one of 
the “ Originals ” could stir a block without 
being overtaken by some school-mate who 
was loaded to the point of explosion with 
curiosity and questions. “ What was the 
new club to be?” ‘‘Who originated the 
idea?” “How could one become a mem- 
ber?” “Would it be exclusive? But of 
course it would, if such people as Polly 
Howland and Harry Hull had anything to 
do with it; one was so aristocratic and the 
other so rich.” The Hulls were probably 
the wealthiest people in Montgentian and 
at the same time the least pretentious. 
These and a hundred other questions, sensi- 
ble or silly, but each “ Original ” invariably 
answered : 

“ We can’t tell a thing yet because it is 
all so new that we hardly know ourselves. 
Next Friday we are going to have our first 
real meeting and we shall know where we 


At CKristmas-Tide 203 

stand. After that we can tell other 
people.” 

On that momentous Friday the plans were 
earnestly discussed and the various branches 
of the Club decided upon. Polly, Ralph, 
Harry, and Betty were not assigned to any 
special work outside of their own offices, as 
these were supposed to hold sufficient re- 
sponsibility, but the other members were 
parceled out as follows: 

Jack Brownell, who was fond of sports, 
was to be chairman of the athletic branch, 
and Nancy Putnam, who was on the school 
basket-ball team, and as brimful of vitality 
and energy as her redoubtable ancestor, 
“ Israel,” was to represent the girls in this 
branch of the Club. 

Ned Stark and Eleanor Russell, who 
were regular historical book-worms, would 
represent the patriotic branch and keep the 
other members’ wits stirred on current 
events and the doings past and present of 
their land. 

Frank Russell, Eleanor’s brother, “ the 
dandy,” and “ a fusser,” with Olive Powell, 

the belle,” would look to the social side 
of affairs, since they loved dancing better 
if possible than eating, and were in their 
element when playing host or hostess. 


204 


Captain Polly 


Carroll Stewart and Helen Loder would 
stand for the practical side of things, for 
Carroll loved to “ tinker ” and Helen was a 
most executive domestic little body. 

When all this had been duly settled, the 
form each branch would take was agreed 
upon. With the present limited number of 
members not much could be attempted, but 
when the limitation was mentioned a dis- 
tinct commotion arose among the members 
and the Captain, promptly taking the hint, 
asked if any member had any suggestions 
to offer. 

Then things seethed for a few minutes as 
member after member volunteered the fact 
that he, or she, had been vigorously cross - 
questioned regarding the Club, and in many 
cases the questioner had hinted pretty 
broadly that she, or he, would be delighted 
to have a more intimate knowledge of all 
pertaining to it. 

“ Then, why not let each charter member 
name some friend he or she would like to 
have join us?” asked Captain Polly, “ and 
we will vote on them.” 

Never was motion more eagerly adopted 
or more promptly acted upon. Forthwith 
each member wrote the name of his or her 
nominee and a vote was taken on the mo- 


At CHristmas-Tide (205 

tion. The result gave the names of seven 
girls and five boys. 

“Will the Secretary please make a memo- 
randum of these names and write notes to 
each nominee ? ” asked Polly. 

“ What must I write it on? ” was the 
rather disconcerting question of said 
Secretary. 

A titter passed over the assembled twelve. 

“ I don’t wonder you ask, Betty,” said 
Polly, “ but I ’d thought of that too. I 
bought some stationery with part of brother 
Snap’s money because I knew we must have 
some. I ’phoned Harry about it and he 
agreed. The paper is over there on the 
window ledge. And now Commander 
Ralph has something to talk to you about.” 

Ralph stepped to the table. 

“ I ’m afraid my little spiel — talky I 
mean, — is n’t going to hold as much interest 
for you all as the other fellows’ and girls’ 
here, because it has got to deal with just 
hard facts. You see we ’ve got to have ways 
and means. Now we each want to chip in 
five dollars independent of Mr. Hunter’s 
donation which was a dandy; twenty-five 
dollars just dropped into our laps, I call it. 
Polly and I have settled upon our ways, 
and have already done something toward 


206 


Captain Polly 


earning our fives. She has three and I have 
two-seventy-five with the prospect of more. 
Some of you I know have regular spend- 
ing money given you, and some of you 
have n’t. For those who have, the five would 
be as easy as rolling off a log, but for those 
who have n’t it ’s a different story, and I 
don’t think it would be fair to those who 
have n’t if those who have just turned theirs 
in without an effort. We must all work for 
our fun no matter what our circumstances 
may be. Those of you who agree with me 
on this please stand.” 

Up came every member. 

“Good! I’m mighty glad of that, and 
we’ll all get busy mighty quick! I guess 
that ’s all I want to say. How each of you 
will earn your fives is your own business 
and I ’m not going to butt in,” and Ralph 
went back to his seat. As he sat down 
Betty rose: 

“ Captain Polly, may I speak?” 

“ Of course. Lieutenant Betty.” 

“ Then I wish to say that it seems to me 
the notes sent to the nominees should con- 
tain little printed slips, booklets maybe, of 
the laws, etc., of the Club, and especially 
this particular rule, because the people will 
then know just what to expect, and whether 


At CKristmas-TTide 207 

they wish to join us or not. They may as 
well know beforehand that it is n’t all fun 
without work. And one of our members 
could print these booklets as nicely as any- 
thing. I mean Carroll Stewart. You still 
have your press, haven’t you, Carroll?” 

“Sure! And it works like a peach!” 
was Carroll’s somewhat puzzling simile. 

“ Splendid! Can you print them for 
us?” 

“ You bet I can, and I ’ll be tickled to 
death to do it. How many do you want? ” 

“ I think we ought to have a hundred 
anyway, because everybody will be ask- 
ing about our doings and it will give us 
a sort of dignified air if we hand them 
a — a — what ’s the right word? ” hesitated 
Betty. 

“ Use ‘ summary,’ Betty,” suggested 
Harry. 

“ Yes, that ’s it exactly. I have been 
thinking like a house-a-fire ever since last 
Friday and this is one of my thinhsf* 
laughed Betty; then she resumed: “ So I 
stopped at the Chronicle office to ask them 
what they would charge to print such book- 
lets — I had an outline all written out — and 
they said a dollar a hundred. Now we can 
pay our dollar to Carroll instead.” 


208 


Captain Polly 


“Not on your life!” was CarrolFs ex- 
plosive interruption. 

“Then you don’t print them!” was 
Betty’s quick retort, and in about one 
second a figurative hornet’s nest was buz- 
zing around poor Carroll’s ears, for each 
member insisted that unless he let them pay 
him the regular rates the “ job ” would go 
to the Chronicle office. 

“But I’d feel like a regular mucker to 
take your money,” protested the boy. 

“Mucker nothing! I tell you we have 
got to pay somebody^ so why not you? That 
will be the beginning of your five, don’t you 
see? Now pipe down and let Betty finish,” 
cried Ralph. 

“ I ’ve finished if you have all agreed, and 
the next thing I do is to write those twelve 
notes, and then try to earn my own little 
fiver.” 

When a few more matters had been dis- 
cussed the meeting adjourned and from that 
moment things began rapidly to take shape 
and form. 

December saw the Club membership in- 
creased to twenty-four, for not one nominee 
had declined and all of the twelve proposed 
were elected. 

At Christmas came the first formal open- 


At CHristmas-Tide 209 

ing — a dance given on Christmas eve, each 
member inviting a girl and a boy friend. 

Mr. Stone promptly placed the large as- 
sembly-room at their disposal. Mrs. Stone 
offered her services in any capacity and was 
asked to chaperone the dance. Mr. Stone 
came to help with the decorations, sending 
out from town yards of bunting and a dozen 
flags as his donation. His “ Christmas 
present to the Club,” he called it, while the 
parents who had received polite little notes 
to “ witness the dance from the balcony,” 
vied with each other in sending in vari- 
ous articles for decorating. Harry Hull’s 
father, whose hobby was his greenhouse, 
ordered a wagon-load of palms and potted 
plants sent to the school. 

The father of two of the new members 
whose joy and gratitude at his son’s and 
daughter’s election was almost pathetic, 
went to Mr. Stone to ask if he might wire 
the room for electric lights. He was chief 
electrician at the town electric plant, and 
up to the present time no one had cared to 
enroll either Tom or Mary Donaldson in a 
fraternity or sorority. When one girl had 
proposed Mary, who was a most lovable, 
brilliant girl, a cry arose: ‘‘What I Mary 

Donaldson? Why, her father puts on over- 
14 


Captain Polly 


eio 

alls and works in the electric plant!” So 
Mary was tabooed. But the P. V. S. Club 
was only too delighted to welcome both 
Mary and Tom among its members, and 
were equally delighted to have Mr. Donald- 
son who, in spite of the despised overalls, 
was a refined, able man, make the assembly- 
room a fairy-bower for them. 

One of the prettiest features of that 
Christmas eve was suggested by Constance 
Howland. With thoughts of Snap ever in 
her mind, she suggested a Christmas-tree 
upon which each Club member, as well as any 
others so inclined, should hang some little 
gift for the children of the Jackies on board 
the battle-ship fleet, these gifts to be sent 
in the name of the Club to the new York 
Navy Yard, care of the Commandant. Con- 
stance donated a huge tree and Mr. Donald- 
son’s skilful hands soon had it a thing of 
beauty with tiny red, white, and blue electric 
bulbs, while back of it blazed an electric 
“ Old Glory.” The hours he spent in that 
assembly-room after his duties at the elec- 
tric plant were over, nobody but Tom, his 
able helper, guessed, but nothing he could 
do for the Club could begin to express his 
gratitude. 

On Christmas eve the place presented a 


At CKristmas-Tide 


2II 


wonderful picture to those entering it, and 
the number who did enter it made the Club 
members experience secret qualms as to 
whether they had properly gauged the sup- 
ply of refreshments necessary. True, these 
were very simple, just cake and lemonade, 
so far as the members themselves knew, — 
the biggest surprise was for them, after all 
— for Mr. Hull had ordered a huge freezer 
of ice-cream. Mrs. Howland and Con- 
stance had made dozens and dozens of 
sandwiches. Some one else had sent can- 
dies, until every one was in a fair way to 
be made ill from too many good things. 
Enthusiasm was at fever heat, and when all 
the preparations were completed it would 
have been hard to find a prettier room, a 
more inviting refreshment table, or a happier 
lot of people young or old. 

Promptly at eight o’clock the palm- 
embowered receiving stand, with its pretty 
rugs, divans, and pillows, was the centre of 
attraction. In the middle of it stood Mrs. 
Stone, fascinating and smiling, her gown 
a dainty white lingerie such as she might have 
worn at any afternoon tea served upon her 
own pretty lawn. At her right stood Ralph, 
in his Midshipman’s suit, cleaned and cher- 
ished for special occasions, for that suit must 


Captain Polly 


Q12 

not be lightly used. At her left Polly, in 
her white duck “ middy,” dark-green holly 
leaves in her tawny hair, holly and a little 
American flag pinned upon her breast. 
Next Polly stood Harry Hull, and at his 
left Betty, each, in honor of the Club and 
season, wearing their holly and flag. Eight 
of the charter members acted as ushers, es- 
corting the guests to the receiving stand, 
where, having presented them, they turned 
them over to the more recently elected mem- 
bers whose duty it was to escort to the bal- 
cony the older guests, and secure partners 
for the younger ones. 

On the opposite side of the hall, in the 
shadow of the big tree, sat the musicians; 
not a large orchestra, to be sure, but a good 
piano, harp, and violin, the musicians hav- 
ing volunteered their services, for a daughter 
of one was a teacher in the high school, the 
violinist’s son was the janitor, and the harp- 
ist’s girl would enter the High the following 
year. 

When the invitations were sent to the 
Club members, a few inconspicuous words in 
the lower left-hand corner requested that — 

“ The girls will please wear a simple 
white gown; the boys will please wear blue 
or black if possible.” 


At CKristmas-Tide 213 

It was not to be supposed that many of 
the Montgentian High School boys boasted 
evening-clothes or Tuxedos, but the Social 
Committee did not propose to take any 
chances of having those who did not out- 
shone by those who did, and the result was 
perfect harmony of attire. Each guest 
upon leaving the dressing-rooms was pre- 
sented with a little flag and a cluster of 
holly, and a prettier sight it would have been 
difficult to picture than the girls, in their 
white gowns, holly- and flag-bedecked, and 
the boys with their holly sprigs and flags in 
their left lapels. 

Such a happy three hours as followed! 

Never were hearts or feet lighter, never 
was music more enticing, never faces more 
radiant, and never did older people enter 
more heartily into the delights of the 
younger ones. 

At ten-thirty supper was served by the 
Club members, the older guests being first 
honored, and “ a mad, merry feast ” it 
proved when it came the turn of the younger 
ones. 

None of the older guests were allowed 
upon the dancing floor; Mr* Stone looked 
to that, and, placing himself at the entrance, 
graciously but firmly requested all late 


SI4 Captain Foll^ 

arrivals, or stragglers, to go directly to the 
balcony. 

When Mrs. Stone had concluded her 
duties at the receiving stand she joined the 
group of friends in the gallery just above 
it, this place having been agreed upon by 
her and the girls as the rendezvous in case 
of need. 

After supper, Polly sought out Mr. 
Stone. 

“ Won’t you please go and dance now? ” 
she asked. 

"I go and dance. Captain Polly!” he 
exclaimed. 

“ Yes, please do, because you have been 
so dear to all of us, standing here and help- 
ing and shooing away the grown-ups. But 
I know Aunty Stone just loves to dance! 
Two or three times I ’ve seen her feet keep- 
ing time and I just hate to be having all 
the fun while she has n’t one bit.” 

“ Does she look so wan and depressed as 
all that?” asked the principal, glancing up 
at his wife who at that moment was the 
centre of a group of friends, her face radiant 
and her lips parted in a gay laugh. 

Polly laughed from sympathy. “No, 
she doesn’t look exactly melancholy, but I 
want her to dance just the same.” 


At CHristmas-Tide 


215 


‘‘ If she does, the whole balcony will pile 
down upon the floor and dance too, you 
mark my words, Pollykins. Tell you what 
I ’ll do though : if you will dance the next 
dance with me I ’ll get Ralph to ask Mrs. 
Stone, and the other P. V. S.’s to ask the 
other dancing grown-ups to take a turn with 
them. How about that? ” 

“ Splendid! How will you do it?” 

“ Did you bring the bugle, Polly? ” 

“ Yes, it is at the receiving stand.” 

“Will 5^ou sound attention call between 
the next dances? ” 

“ Oh, Uncle Stone! What would the 
people think of me? ” and Polly blushed. 

“ Think you are just what you are: a little 
trump. Get busy, Polly, and leave the rest 
to me.” 

Side by side they walked' to the receiving 
stand, hardly noticed by the others who were 
waltzing by, and as the last strains of the 
music ceased, Polly raised the bugle and 
the call rang cheerily through the room. It 
created a sensation. Necks were craned 
over the balcony and a buzz of inquiry fol- 
lowed. Then Mr. Stone’s clear full voice 
announced : 

“ I have been asked by the Captain of 
the P. V. S. Club to request each member 


2I6 


Captain Polly 


to choose a partner from among our adult 
guests for the next dance, as a slight token 
of her appreciation of the honor they have 
done the Club by gracing it with their 
presence this evening.” 

Then turning to the little bugler at his 
left side, Mr. Stone asked with a bow which 
delighted her: 

“May I have the honor of this dance, 
Captain Polly? ” 

The hint was instantly taken by the other 
members and none was prouder than Ralph 
as he escorted Mrs. Stone to the floor. 

The other boys sought their older femi- 
nine friends and the girls their masculine 
ones, and fathers, mothers, and relatives, 
who had long since declared their dancing 
days over, gaily two-stepped across that 
polished floor. 

But prettiest of all was the evening’s end- 
ing. At ten minutes to twelve “ Home- 
Sweet-Home ” waltz was played, ending 
with the “ Star-Spangled Banner.” 

It was pretty to see the guests both old and 
young instantly follow the example of the 
Club members who were scattered through- 
out the room. From the first Polly and 
Ralph had concluded their meetings by 
standing to sing “ The Star-Spangled 



POLLY STEPPED FROM BEHIND THE PALMS 


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At CHristmas-Tide 217 

Banner ” and had arranged to have it played 
to-night. As the boys and girls came to 
attention, each person present did likewise, 
and the eyes of more than one guest grew 
dim as the stirring notes filled the room and 
awakened in their hearts a thrill of patriot- 
ism such as they had not experienced in 
many a day. 

As the last notes of the instruments 
ceased, Polly stepped from behind the palms 
at the receiving stand and placing her bugle 
to her soft lips blew the tender, lulling notes 
of “ Taps.” All that was tenderest, truest, 
best, and sweetest in Polly vibrated in that 
good-night song, and stirred her hearers to 
their very souls. When it ended, still clasp- 
ing her bugle in her arms, she came from her 
leafy covert. 

Then enthusiasm broke loose and, led by 
Mr. Stone, those present cheered for the 
little Captain and the P. V. S. Club and 
then crowded about her and the other mem- 
bers to congratulate them upon the success 
of their Club, and thank them heartily for 
a truly delightful evening which was unani- 
mously voted the most brilliant entertain- 
ment ever given by the pupils of the 
Montgentian High School, 


CHAPTER XV 

CAPTAIN POLLY TO THE RESCUE 

The Christmas holidays sped away as 
Christmas holidays have a trick of do- 
ing, and during the week which followed 
the formal opening of the Pro Vexillo 
Scholaque Club a degree of excitement was 
evident in the town of Montgentian such 
as had not stirred it in many a day, so en- 
tirely new and novel was this innovation. 
The very fact that the older people of the 
town, who might naturally feel some inter- 
est in the affairs pertaining to the school 
world, had voluntarily been invited to par- 
ticipate in the Christmas-eve entertainment 
had instantly insured the popularity of the 
newly founded society. 

Without the least attempt upon her own 
part to become a popular social leader, 
Polly found herself in that position, and 
some of her experiences made her wonder 
why people could resort to such flimsily con- 
218 


Captain Polly to tHe R^escue 219 

cealed methods in order to achieve an end. 
Polly was nothing if not honest, and any 
subterfuge or deceit upon the part of others 
acted upon her very much as a red rag acts 
upon a bull if flaimted in his face. Between 
Christmas and New Year’s day Polly re- 
ceived more invitations to dances and vari- 
ous forms of holiday entertainment than 
ever before in all her short life, and was 
amazed to receive boxes of candy from boys 
who hitherto had been almost oblivious of 
her existence, and poesies from girls who had 
regarded “ the little Freshman ” as quite be- 
neath the notice of their Sophomore or 
Junior world. 

As to Ralph, he, too, had sprung into a 
most unlooked-for prominence and was sur- 
prised to find how many friends he could 
muster. At first he, like Polly, found it a 
little puzzling, but they speedily awakened 
to the truth of the situation, and with their 
awaking grew a spirit of resentment that 
such things could really be. 

Nevertheless, there were plenty of “ loyal 
hearts and spirits brave, and souls that were 
pure and true,” in the high school, and, 
oddly enough, little Polly was destined to 
do some “ sifting ” and never suspect her 
power as a standard for honor, sincerity, 


020 


Captain Polly 


truth, and all that goes to make this beauti- 
ful world more beautiful by confirming one’s 
faith in one’s fellow beings. There were 
plenty of boys and girls in the school who 
were far above resorting to subterfuge in 
order to secure a place in the new Club which 
was gaining popularity with each day. If 
these were anxious to be enrolled as mem- 
bers they went straight to Polly or Ralph 
to learn all about it and whether there was 
any hope for them, and they invariably re- 
ceived straightforward answers to their 
questions, and in not a few instances 
speedily found their names upon the list 
of nominees and were in due time elected 
members. 

One of the funniest experiences Polly 
ever had was with a certain little Freshman 
named Susan Swingle. Polly insisted that 
such a name was enough to queer any girl 
if nothing else did, though the name seemed 
to fit her exactly, or she fitted the name per- 
haps. She was a funny, expressionless lit- 
tle thing of fifteen, but looked at least two 
years younger. Her hair was straw-colored 
and absolutely unmanageable, hanging in 
hopeless strings two minutes after she had 
arranged it, if the term can be applied to 
a slipshod attempt at brushing it. She was 


Captain Polly to tHe IVesc\ie 221 


careless in her dress, awkward in her car- 
riage and manner, and spoke with an ab- 
surd lisp, which puckered her lips as though 
she were about to whistle, and made her 
pronounce her own name Thusan Thwingle. 
One afternoon as Polly was walking home 
from school she met a girl accompanied by 
the impossible “ Thusan.” Polly had known 
the girl in grammar school, and knew that 
she was an enthusiastic admirer of the new 
Club. A lively conversation began and 
Margaret Chase had a rapture then and 
there. 

“Wouldn’t you just love to be a mem- 
ber? ” she asked Susan. 

“ Oh, I don’t think mamma would ap- 
prove,” replied Susan. 

“ Not approve when everybody, old and 
young, thinks Polly’s club the nicest one 
ever! ” 

“ Yeth, I know that, but — ^but — don’t you 
thee there are boyths in it too, and mamma 
would never let me join a club with boyths. 
She doeth n’t allow me to thpeak to boyths 
even.” 

Polly’s eyes grew big. 

“ Why not, I ’d like to know? ” 

“ Oh, thee thinks they are tho rude and 
vulgar.” 


222 


Captain Polly 


But this was too much for Polly. 

‘‘Poppycock! What nonsense! Good- 
bye, Margaret.” The next day little Polly’s 
eyes grew even bigger. Having occasion 
to go down to the basement to see Mrs. 
Thomas just before the noon hour, she al- 
most ran into a boy and a girl who were par- 
tially concealed by a foundation pillar, and 
too absorbed in each other to be aware of 
her approach. A more sentimental picture 
it would be hard to draw, for the pair were 
billing and cooing like turtle doves. 

Polly stopped as though petrified. The 
girl was Susan Swingle, and the boy, one 
whom most of his class had turned down 
because he was hopelessly impossible. 

Then Polly’s eyes blazed as she asked: 

“ Do you think this sort of thing is in 
better taste and less ‘ vulgar ’ than speaking 
to boys upstairs where all of us can see 
you?” 

“ Oh, pleathe, pleathe, pleathe, don’t tell! 
Pleathe, don’t!” wailed Miss Sentimen- 
tality, breaking into violent sobs. Her com- 
panion gave one glance at Polly which was 
returned with a look of such blazing scorn 
that it ought to have scorched him, and then 
fled for the stairs. Susan made toward 
Polly as though to detain her, but one lithe 


Captain Polly to tKe R.esc\ae 223 


spring carried Polly beyond the girl’s 
reach. 

“ Don’t come near me ! I know now how 
much dependence to place in you! Do you 
judge every one by yourself? Go up- 
stairs, you simpleton! ” 

Exit Susan, but Polly had received a les- 
son in wordly wisdom. Perhaps it slightly 
jarred her faith, but it made her value 
truth the more. 

This all happened early in January, and 
soon after it was forgotten in other matters 
in which Polly figured as heroine. 

January began with wretchedly cold, 
stormy weather. The thermometer, once 
started upon its downward journey, seemed 
determined to go out of sight entirely. 
Snow fell until it was banked on all sides, 
and this was followed by ice storms which 
coated everything. Mrs. Howland had 
never known such a winter since coming to 
live in Montgentian, and was more than once 
tempted to close her house and go to town 
for a month or two, so difficult had it become 
to get to and from Montgentian, or to the 
city. Then Polly’s keen interest in her club 
and school made her think twice before tak- 
ing such a step, and Polly begged her to 
wait just a little longer to see if the weather 


224 


Captain Polly 


would not moderate. Still another cause of 
disquietude for Mrs. Howland, although 
she did not mention it to Constance or Polly, 
lay in the fact that several daring robberies 
had taken place in Montgentian within the 
preceding weeks. Houses were entered, 
valuables stolen, and the thieves were still at 
large. The very situation of their home 
made her uneasy; it was so remote from the 
town, their only neighbors being Mr. Bar- 
ber’s family next door and a family living 
nearly a quarter of a mile farther up the 
mountain. Just at present Mr. Barber was 
South with his family and their house was 
closed. 

True, both the Barber home and Mrs. 
Howland’s were electrically wired with 
burglar alarms and had telephone connec- 
tions with the police headquarters. Never- 
theless, Mrs. Howland laid her head upon 
the pillow at night with more or less appre- 
hension, and when she wakened in the morn- 
ing experienced a sense of relief that another 
night had passed without mishap. 

And so the middle of January came and 
passed. Then one night, when for some un- 
accountable reason, she seemed to have tem- 
porarily forgotten the fears which had 
caused her so many wakeful nights of late, 


Captain Polly to tKe R^escne 225 

and had dropped into a sound, dreamless 
sleep, the climax came. 

Since GaiPs departure for boarding- 
school in the fall, Constance and Polly had 
kept the doors communicating with their 
mother’s room open at night, but between 
Polly’s and her mother’s room was the den 
through which she must pass to go into her 
mother’s bed-chamber. In the den Polly 
kept her bugle. Never must it be kept 
downstairs, and since this general alarm 
from the burglaries in Montgentian, she had 
been more careful than ever. 

On this night Polly was restless, thanks 
to an over-indulgence in fudge just before 
going to bed. For a few hours she slept 
fitfully, but on the stroke of one o’clock, 
wakened with a more than severe twinge in 
the region of the undigested fudge, and, sit- 
ting up in bed, exclaimed under her breath: 

‘‘ Plague take that old fudge! Whatever 
did I eat such a lot of it for? If it had been 
Ralph I ’d have run him half to death for 
a regular greedy! I wonder if there is any 
Jamaica ginger in the bathroom medicine 
closet, and if I can get it without waking 
mother and Connie and scaring them half 
to death? If I turn on the light here they ’ll 
waken sure,” and Polly crept noiselessly 

IS 


2e6 


Captain Polly 


from her bed, and drew on her heavy bath- 
robe and slippers. 

The night was inky black and bitterly 
cold. Polly shivered as she crept through 
the chilly hall to the bathroom. Once there 
she closed the door, switched on the electric 
light, and a moment later had prepared her 
dose and swallowed it with a character- 
istic: "'There! I hope you’ll get busy 
down inside of me and stop that fudge’s 
high-strikes ! ” 

Then hurrying back to her room she 
scrambled into bed again. 

How still the house was! How quiet all 
the world beyond her windows! Not a 
sound broke the absolute silence; a silence 
so unlike that of a mid-summer night with 
its myriad insect voices and the pulsation 
of living, growing things. This mid-winter 
silence was the silence of death in its icy 
shroud of snow. Polly shivered as she lay in 
her bed, but it was more from an indefinable 
dread of the hour and the chill silence which 
seemed so weird and unnatural. Far off in 
the distance a hound bayed his doleful note 
so in keeping with the hour and the scene. 
As the ring died away a faint noise came 
to Polly’s keenly sensitive hearing. It 
seemed to be directly beneath her window. 


Captain Polly to tHe IVescne 227 


For a moment her soul was filled with a 
vague, unreasoning terror, and a sense of 
helplessness, as in a flash she recalled the 
stories of the burglaries of the past few 
weeks. A slight shiver passed over her and 
she could neither move nor speak. Her first 
impulse was to rouse her mother, for she 
knew well enough that her fears were well 
grounded. Then in a flash came Snap’s 
words : ‘‘ Sort of dope it out yourself. Cap- 

tain, and spare Carissima in every way you 
can.” ‘‘ Yes, if brother Snap were here now, 
and, oh, I wish he were ! He ’d know what 
to do,” was Polly’s half articulated thought. 
No, she would not alarm her mother if she 
could help it. But what was that sound? 
There it was again! A slight crunching as 
of a stealthy footfall upon the crusted snow. 
Once more Polly slipped from her bed 
and scrambling into her knit slippers and 
robe ran to the window to listen. The 
sound was not repeated. Then she went 
out into the hall, and crept to the head of 
the stairs. All was dark and silent. Squat- 
ting down upon the top step she listened 
with every sense alert. Then sliding softly 
from step to step she made her way down- 
ward until she sat upon the lower landing, an 
alert little figure enveloped in total darkness. 


2£8 


Captain Polly 


The Howland house was rather oddly 
constructed: as you entered the spacious 
foyer hall, you looked into every room upon 
the main floor. Had Polly’s vision been 
able to penetrate the intense darkness she 
could have seen reception-room, drawing- 
room, library, and dining-room from her 
vantage point. As it was she could see 
nothing but the broad, low window of the 
dining-room, and this only in a vague, 
shadowy way, because the faint rays of an 
arc light in the road beyond were cast aslant 
it. She listened intently but not a sound 
came to her ears. The big clock on the 
farther side of the hall tick-tacked, tick- 
tacked the minutes away and presently 
struck one resounding boom which so 
startled Polly that she nearly tumbled down 
the six remaining steps, then laughed softly 
at her own fright. One-thirty! Goodness, 
how late it was ! And so still and cold ! It 
was silly to remain there imagining all sorts 
of foolish things. She would go back to bed 
where she belonged. Rising to her feet she 
was about to turn and creep softly back to 
her room when a sharp click seemed to turn 
her to stone. It came from the dining- 
room, and there was no mistaking it this 
time. Polly’s eyes and ears were strained 



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SHE WAS ABOUT TO TURN AND CREEP SOFTLY BACK 











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«.• 




Captain Polly to tHe IVescne 229 


to their utmost tension. Again that click, 
and following it the sound of a carefully 
raised window and — yes! — in the faint light 
a shadowy figure was discernible! Up 
went the window and a leg was thrust across 
the sill. Polly did not pause another in- 
stant. Like a silent, avenging wraith she 
fied up the stairs, back to her room. Her 
lips were compressed, her eyes blazing, her 
hands icy-cold from the nervous strain. 

Not a sound came from her mother’s or 
Constance’s room. On the threshold of her 
den Polly paused to listen again. Only 
her mother’s gentle breathing was audible. 
Swiftly, and without a sound, Polly caught 
up her precious bugle and fled back to her 
own room. She did not pause one second ; all 
her plans had been formulated in that brief 
flight up-stairs. Speeding from her room, 
she entered a guest-room situated exactly 
over the dining-room, and disconnecting the 
burglar alarm, raised the window directly 
above the one their midnight visitor had 
entered, and the next moment the sharp, 
staccato notes of “ warning call ” rang out 
across the dark icy night, each note clear-cut 
and emphasized by the death-like silence, 
and by all the force of Polly’s resolution and 
Polly’s fear behind it. 


230 Captain Polly 

Perhaps Gabriel’s trump might have 
wrought greater consternation to the masked 
marauder and his confederate below stairs. 
Thus far all had been plain sailing for them, 
and, like all of their ilk, they had come to 
the Howland home with a very complete 
knowledge of the number and sex of its in- 
mates, as well as with a pretty clear idea of 
what they were likely “ to pull off on the 
job.” But the silver bugle had not entered 
into their calculations, and now it wrought 
their complete undoing. If they had en- 
tered silently, their exit certainly was not 
noiseless. One went the way he came, but 
the other went clean through a plate-glass 
window, and the crash mingled with the in- 
cessant calls of the bugle. 

At the first note Mrs. Howland and Con- 
stance were out of bed. Mrs. Howland in- 
stantly flashed on every light in the house 
by turning the switch at the head of her bed, 
and as Constance rushed toward the sound 
of Polly’s bugle, the whole situation rushed 
through her mind. 

“ Polly! Little sister! What is it? ” she 
called, as she ran into the guest-room. 

“Quick! Phone to the police-station! 
There they go! Look after mother! I’m 
all right! ” and again the warning call rang 


Captain Polly to tHe R.esc\ie 231 

out, this time answered by a watchman’s 
whistle and the sharp report of a revolver 
from up the road. Polly had not only sum- 
moned the night watchman, but had roused 
the coachman and groom on Colonel Han- 
cock’s estate. That bugle call was too well 
known in the neighborhood not to be in- 
stantly recognized, and when heard at such 
an untoward hour, its message was full of 
dire significance. In a good deal less time 
than it has taken to relate it, Colonel Han- 
cock’s men, one of whom had formerly been 
his orderly, were in hot chase after two flee- 
ing figures, and it was Brennan’s shot which 
called a summary halt to one, and caused 
the other to fling up his hands when that 
decisive young Irishman’s voice commanded 
him so to do. Brennan had served seven 
years on the plains under Colonel Hancock 
and did not speak twice. Fifteen minutes 
after Polly’s timely warning the two ring- 
leaders of the gang which had terrorized 
Montgentian for the past six weeks were 
fast bound and in the custody of Colonel 
Hancock, Brennan, and the coachman 
awaiting the arrival of the officers from 
Montgentian. 

And meanwhile what of Polly? 

Although a trifle white and shaky as she 


232 Captain Polly- 

sat on the couch in her den, with Mrs. How- 
land asking a dozen questions, she was by 
no means in a panic. 

“ My dear, dear little girl, why did n’t you 
call me first ? ” she said tenderly, as she 
slipped her arms about the blue-clad figure. 

Polly nestled close as she answered: 

‘‘ There was no time to call anybody, and 
no reason to scare you half to death any 
way.” 

‘‘But you could have called me, dear!” 
protested Constance, coming from her room, 
where she had been scrambling into some 
clothing a trifie warmer than her night dress, 
and now handed her mother an extra shawl 
to put over her wool kimono. 

Polly shook her head negatively, but be- 
fore she could reply there came the sound 
of trampling feet upon the piazza and voices 
demanding admittance. The police had ar- 
rived and with them Colonel Hancock. 

It was no time to think of toilets, and the 
maids, who had just come hurrying down 
from their rooms upon the third fioor, ran 
downstairs to open the door. 

For the next half hour everybody talked 
at once, but at length the facts of the situa- 
tion were made clear. 

When Colonel Hancock had listened to 


Captain Polly to tHe IVescne 233 

Polly’s simple version of the facts and her 
terse ending: “ And that ’s all there is to it! 
Just nothing after all! ” he clapped her upon 
her shoulder, crying: 

“Bully for you, Polly! You and your 
Colors saved the day — no, night! ” 

“ I don’t think I did it at all; I think it 
was the fudge and a pretty bad stomach- 
ache ! ” answered Polly. 


CHAPTER XVI 

OFF FOE HAMPTON ROADS 

If Polly had ever doubted her right and 
title to the name given her, her doubt must 
have been dispelled after the experiences of 
that January night, for she literally “ awoke 
one morning to find herself famous,” though 
it is not to be supposed that sleep came read- 
ily to the eyes of any member of the How- 
land household during the remaining hours 
of that eventful night. Nevertheless, at 
about four, when the excitement had sub- 
sided, and Colonel Hancock, and those who 
had arrived hotfoot upon the scene, had 
gone their several ways, Mrs. Howland in- 
sisted upon her household settling down in 
their beds, and, sleep falling gently upon 
eyes on the hither side of life’s quarter cen- 
tury, Polly and Constance were soon in 
shadowland, although Mrs. Howland did 
not find her journey thither so quickly 
accomplished. 


234 


Off for Hampton IVoads 235 

When Polly reached school that morning 
she was met by such an ovation that she 
hardly knew whether to he annoyed or 
pleased. As the story had journeyed it had 
gathered like a snowball, until its exaggera- 
tions were astounding, and Polly began to 
wonder whether she were just Polly How- 
land, or some heroine from an ancient mytho- 
logical tale, and whether she had merely 
routed a couple of burglars by a timely call 
upon her bugle, or held up half a dozen des- 
peradoes at the muzzle of a revolver, so had 
the report of the night’s adventure grown 
within eight hours. 

“ My goodness, I did n’t do a single thing 
worth making such a fuss about!” cried 
Polly, when about twenty girls had swarmed 
upon her and had a rapture. 

“ Well, I just guess you did! ” cried one. 

“ I should have died and fainted of 
fright!” said another. 

“ I ’d never have dared put my nose 
outside my door, much less run down- 
stairs with a revolver after a robber!” 
added a third. 

‘‘ Why, I never did anything of the kind ! 
Who told you such a crazy story as that? ” 
cried Polly. 

And so the tales circulated, but one thing 


236 Captain Polly 

was certain: Polly, figuratively speaking, 
had surely won her spurs. 

But nine days’ wonders always give way to 
the newest sensation, and this time it was a 
letter from Snap. He had written very 
regularly, and at Christmas had come some 
pretty tokens of his love for each member of 
the family and for Ralph. Best of all, how- 
ever, was his second contribution to the P. 
V. S. Society: another check for twenty- 
five dollars, and a letter so filled with en- 
thusiasm over Polly’s description of the 
Club, and suggestions for it, that Polly 
could hardly wait until a meeting could be 
called to impart the joyous news. 

It was received with wild acclamations. 
Naturally the Christmas recess had for a 
time interfered with the Club’s activities, but 
with the opening of the new term in Janu- 
ary they were renewed with greater zest than 
ever, and each Friday saw the members con- 
gregated in the Board Room and some 
branch of the Club work well in hand. Just 
now, however, the keenest interest of all 
was under discussion and this was the pro- 
posed trip to Hampton Roads to welcome 
the Fleet. 

Since its initial meeting in November the 
Club’s membership list had grown amaz- 


Off for Hampton IV^oads 


237 


ingly. First the “ Originals ” were in- 
creased by twelve, not long after eight more 
were added, and at their first meeting in the 
New Year fifteen more were elected, making 
a total membership of forty-seven, by far 
the largest club in the school. 

Now came the question as to how many 
of the members, and which ones, should go 
to Hampton Roads as Snap so earnestly 
wished, and it was rather a hair-splitting one 
to answer for a good many reasons. 

How to decide which members should be 
chosen was exciting no little discussion. 

Perhaps a third could have gone without 
giving the matter a second thought so far 
as the expenses of the trip were concerned; 
another third could have done so by some 
sacrifice upon the part of their parents; but 
the remaining third would have found it 
quite impossible. So which ones would go 
and which remain at home was the question 
of the hour since, obviously, all could not go. 

“ My gracious, it ’s just like the nursery 
rhyme of, ‘This little pig went to market; 
This little pig stayed at home!”’ cried Polly, 
as the four Club officers were talking the 
matter over while waiting for the other 
members to arrive on the Friday following 
Polly’s momentous bugle call. 


238 


Captain Polly 


“ There is only one way to settle it,” in- 
sisted Ralph, “ and that is by vote, just as 
Mr. Hunter said. We ’d all like to go, 
of course, but we all know it ’s clear out of 
the question. So we ’ll get busy as soon 
as the others show up, and settle the whole 
thing hot off the bat.” 

“ Well, whatever we do has got to be 
done mighty quick, I tell you, for Old Point 
is just going to hum that week and to get 
accommodations will keep somebody guess- 
ing. Where are you going to stop, Polly? 
Your people will go, of course, and that 
means you too,” asked Harry Hull. 

“ Mother has secured a big room at the 
Chamberlain, and Aunt Janet is to be there 
too. Aunty wrote weeks ago. We have 
all got to share mother’s, but it ’s a big one, 
so we don’t mind for the little while we ’ll 
be there. But I tell you one thing, their 
prices are going to fly up just like sky- 
rockets for that week, and if we expect to 
get anything at all, we ’ve got to do it right 
off.” 

“ Then let ’s begin,” said Ralph, as the 
room began to fill with the other members. 

That was a busy afternoon for the P. V. 
S.’s, but when it was over, their plans had 
taken a very definite form, and a rational 


Off for Hampton IVoads 


239 


solution of the vexed question had been ar- 
rived at. By a large majority the original 
twelve were elected to form the “ Visiting 
Committee ” to welcome the Fleet, since a 
larger number was considered far too great 
a tax to impose upon Mrs. Howland, their 
chaperon. These were representative mem- 
bers, so the Club decided, and certainly de- 
served the honor and the pleasure. 

Then the question of funds had to be 
settled, and this was a pretty serious one, 
but a decision was arrived at. It was agreed 
that it would be impossible to make the trip, 
spend five days at the Chamberlain, and meet 
the incidental travelling expenses on less 
than twenty-five dollars for each individual, 
a total of three hundred dollars for the round 
trip; a pretty sizable sum for twelve boys 
and girls to consider. 

When the treasurer was asked to report 
the sum in hand ; he stated : 

Initiation fees of twelve charter 

members $60.00 

Initiation fees of the twelve new 

members first chosen 60.00 

Initiation fees of eight new mem- 
bers 40.00 

Initiation fees of last fifteen mem- 
bers elected 


75.00 


Captain Polly 


040 


Mr. Hunter’s contribution $50.00 

Sums donated by friends 80.00 

Sums earned by various members 
and contributed to general 
fund 45.00 

Total $360.00 

Expenses for Christmas Enter- 
tainment 10.00 


Balance on hand $350.00 


‘‘ Three-hundred-fifty,” said Ralph, and 
out of it twelve of us to take one bite of 
three hundred. That does n’t seem exactly 
a square deal to the rest of the bunch, does 
it?” 

“ If I instead of you were one of the 
‘ Originals,’ how would you feel about it, 
Ralph? ” asked one of the newest members. 

“ I ’d say ^0 mighty quick I ” was the un- 
hesitating reply. 

“Well, then, why shouldn’t we say the 
same? Of course we ’d all like to go, but 
we all can% and the next best thing to seeing 
it ourselves will be to have you come home 
and tell us about ” 

But she got no farther, for here Polly 
bounded to her feet, crying: 


Off for Hampton IVoads 


241 


“ Oh, girls and boys, I Ve had such a 
brilliant brain throb ! Why did n't some of 
us think of it before? Oh, if — if — I can 
only do it! No, I won’t tell one single 
thing about it yet, because I ’ve got to talk 
it all over with brother Snap, but if it can 
be done it will be perfectly splendid and 
will be almost as nice as being there to see 
it in reality, and besides we would be able 
to pay back to the treasury nearly all 
the money the Club will spend to send us 
down to Hampton Roads. Oh, I tell you 
it is simply a great idea! ” 

Coax as they would, they could not get 
another word out of Polly, and at length 
gave it up. Then Ralph asked permission 
to make a proposal. 

“ Since it is all settled that we are to go, 
and we have about decided what the expense 
will be, what do you all say to inviting Mrs. 
Stone to go as the guest of the Club ? Both 
Mr. and Mrs. Stone have been mighty nice 
to us ever since the Club opened. If it 
had n’t been for Mr. Stone we ’d never have 
had this room, and Mrs. Stone worked like a 
trump at our Christmas dance. Maybe you 
didn’t know it, but I found out that she 
gave us that new ten-dollar bill which we 
found hanging on the tree and marked ‘ For 


Captain Polly 


242 

the P. V. S.’s from an admiring friend/ 
And she has been mighty good to us all. 
Of course, it will take more for her hotel 
bill than for any single P. V. S., because 
we must get a room for her, but I guess we 
can get special rates if she goes as a chap- 
eron. We ’ll try to anyhow. Suppose it 
costs us forty-one-fifty more? I think it 
would be worth it if you all think we can 
stand it. That would make the whole trip 
cost three hundred and forty-one dollars and 
fifty cents. It ’s an awful lot of money, I 
know, but how do you feel about it? Shall 
we vote on this before we adjourn? ” 

The vote was taken with enthusiasm and 
the motion carried with a rush which proved 
how popular Mrs. Stone was with the 
P. V. S.’s. 

Now, we must appoint a committee to 
call upon Mrs. Stone and invite her, and I 
think we ’d better ask Mr. Stone to look 
after the business end of all this for us. 
If those Chamberlain people get a notion 
they are corresponding with a School Club, 
they ’ll think we ’re just an easy mark and 
maybe put it all over us,” was Harry Hull’s 
practical suggestion. 

“ That ’s so,” agreed Ralph. “ So, now 
for the committee.” 


Off for Hampton IVoads 243 

“ Let ’s all four of us go. We all know 
Mr. and Mrs. Stone firstrate, and they ’ll 
be glad to hear all about this, I know,” was 
Polly’s suggestion. 

This was agreed to, and when a few minor 
details had been talked over the meeting 
adjourned. 

That evening the Committee of Four 
called at Mr. Stone’s home and a heartier 
welcome, or warmer support in any under- 
taking, no committee ever met with. Mr. 
Stone plunged headforemost into the plan, 
eager as any boy to settle everything in the 
best and shortest time. He wrote the letter 
then and there, and gave it to Harry to 
mail on his way home. 

Then came the invitation to Mrs. Stone. 

To see her face flush with pleasure and 
her eyes shine with the anticipation of a 
girl would have been quite sufficient reward 
for her prospective hosts and hostesses, but 
when she clapped her hands delightedly and 
cried : 

“ Oh, how, how did you ever guess ! Why, 
only last evening I was talking about this 
to Mr. Stone and wishing just as hard as 
ever I could wish that we might see the 
wonderful sight! Why, nothing so lovely 
has happened in ages 1 I ’m sorry he cannot 


244 


Captain Polly 


get away to go with us, but I know he is 
just as happy to have me go as I am to 
accept your lovely invitation, and just as 
proud to think you wanted me for a 
chaperon. Why, when I offered to be one 
ever so long ago nothing half so delightful 
as this treat ever entered my head. But I 
want you to listen to some very sound sense, 
and if any protest arises, you must look for 
another chaperon right off — now listen — ” 
as symptoms of revolt began to stir her 
visitors. “ I will accept your hospitality so 
far as being your guest at the Chamberlain 
is concerned, simply because I know you 
will look elsewhere for a chaperone unless 
I let you do somethings and — well — I mean 
to be the chaperone; at least, I mean to 
share the honor with Mrs. Howland though 
I fancy she ’ll have about all she can at- 
tend to, but I shall insist upon paying my 
own travelling expenses — yes — hush! ” as 
murmurs of opposition arose, “ for that is 
only right and just. Had Mr. Stone and 
I gone, he would have had to dump his 
pockets inside-out to satisfy my rapacity, so 
he can thank his lucky stars at getting off 
so easily ! So, my men and maids, ‘ no payee 
no goee,’ as J ohn Chinaman would tell you, 
and I’m just as pleased as Punch, and just a 


Off for Hampton Rhoads 245 

thousand times obliged to every one of you. 
And here ’s to prove it,” and Mrs. Stone 
sprang from her chair to catch Polly in her 
arms and kiss each cool, rosy cheek, and 
follow it up with Betty. 

There was a queer startled expression 
upon the boys’ faces as though they feared 
her enthusiasm might include them in this 
form of demonstration, but their panic was 
groundless, for turning to them she offered 
each a warm handclasp, saying: 

I ’m so proud of you both! So proud 
and so honored ! ” 

The days which followed were busy ones. 

As soon as possible all arrangements were 
made, and when the cold clear morning of 
February 20, 1909, dawned, the railway sta- 
tion at Montgentian fairly hummed, for not 
only had every Club member assembled to 
speed the ‘‘ Originals ” upon their way, but 
half the town as well. 

Their train for Washington left the Penn- 
sylvania Station at seven-thirty, and this 
necessitated a seven o’clock start from Mont- 
gentian. It was still dark and very cold, 
but that had little effect upon the crowd’s 
enthusiasm, and amidst hoorahs and good- 
byes they set forth. 

There is no need to describe the novelty 


246 


Captain Polly 


or delights of that journey of fourteen 
hours. It was a long one, but nobody — not 
even the grown-ups — found it tiresome. 

How could they, with twelve such happy 
young people who were more than ready to 
lend them their eyes to see all that was 
wonderful or interesting, to share with 
them the enthusiasm which only youth can 
know, to season their luncheon with the 
sauce of good cheer and boys’ and girls’ 
appetites ! 

They nearly filled one parlor-car and 
furnished enough entertainment for their fel- 
low-passengers to have served as an induce- 
ment for the railroad to quote even lower 
rates than those Mr. Stone had already suc- 
ceeded in securing for the party, thanks to 
Mr. Hull’s influence with the road’s presi- 
dent, whose interest was instantly aroused, 
and who, in his turn, put in a word with the 
Chamberlain management and naturally les- 
sened charges there, so that when the Club’s 
treasurer footed up expenses when the frolic 
was over, he found that instead of the three 
hundred and twenty-five dollars he had 
counted upon for the trip, for owing to Mrs. 
Stone’s determination to meet her own trav- 
elling expenses the original outlay counted 
upon had been considerably lessened, it 


Off for Hampton Rhoads 247 

had been finally brought down to two hun- 
dred and seventy-five. 

The party was too tired to do more than 
justice to a fine dinner and turn in for a 
sound sleep that Saturday night. There 
were two rooms allotted to the boys, and two 
to the girls, a double and single bed in each 
room providing luxurious accommodations, 
so all agreed. Polly insisted upon sharing 
Betty’s and Nancy’s, while Eleanor Russell, 
Helen Loder, and Alice Powell took the one 
communicating with it. 

‘‘ Oh, does n’t it seem too splendid to be 
true ! ” cried Betty, as she snuggled down 
under the bedclothes with Polly. 

“ I wonder if we ’ll wake up and find it 
a dream? ” was Polly’s answer. 

“ Go to sleep quick and that ’ll make 
Monday come faster!” was Nancy’s prac- 
tical advice. 


CHAPTER XVII 


WELCOME HOME I 

When the morning of February 22d 
dawned upon Hampton Roads, a fog heavy 
enough to dampen the enthusiasm of any 
crowd excepting the one which filled the 
hotel lay upon the water. But these people 
had come to welcome the fleet which had 
“ done the trick,” and the fact that “ the 
trick ” had been done by hundreds of hus- 
bands, sweethearts, brothers, or sons of the 
eager throng on shore only made that throng 
the more eager to cry “ Welcome home! ” 
Everything was hurry-scurry that morn- 
ing. True it was cold and bleak for Old 
Point Comfort — “ Dis- Comfort,” one wag 
stigmatized it, — ^but furs were plenty, rain- 
clothes everywhere in evidence, and light 
hearts made warm bodies, so what more 
could be desired? If the festive attire to 
which the feminine portion of that gathering 
had given so much thought during the pre- 
ceding weeks could not be “broken out” 
248 


Welcome Home! 249 

on this damp day, why, other days would 
follow and some of them were bound to be 
sunny. 

Long before there was the slightest hope 
of breakfast, much less a start, Polly and 
Betty were wide-awake. Creeping from 
their bed they ran to the window to peer 
out into the darkness. Not a sound, not a 
sign of living thing! 

“ Let ’s wake Nancy and we ’ll all get 
dressed early and be ready to go out the 
minute they ’ll let us. Oh, Betty, I ’m 
nearly wild and crazy at the thought of it 
all! — are n’t you? ” and Polly flew at Betty 
to gather her into a regular bear hug. 

“ Don’t talk to me! I could n’t stand an- 
other bit of anticipation without flying all 
to pieces ! ” answered Betty, snatching up a 
pillow to hurl it across the room at the mo- 
tionless flgure in the other bed. The shot 
went true to the mark and up came Nancy’s 
head as, only half awake, she beat the air 
wildly to ward off her invisible enemy, and 
cried : 

“Who is it? What do you want? Go 
away!” and then, fully awakened by the 
laugh which greeted her impromptu per- 
formance, jumped out of bed to join in the 
scramble of dressing. Before they were 


250 


Captain Polly- 


ready to leave their room the other three 
girls banged on the door communicat- 
ing, and in another minute the boys’ voices 
shouted a good-morning from the hall. A 
moment later, Mrs. Stone, Mrs. Howland, 
Mrs. Harold, Constance, and Gail joined 
them, and the party made its way to the 
dining-room, where a buzz of excitement 
testified to the tension of all gathered there. 

Mr. Stone, with his usual forethought, had 
arranged for one large table for Mrs. How- 
land’s party, and before the grapefruit was 
eaten there came an interruption which 
brought every girl and boy to his or her 
feet. It was only the dull boom of a gun, 
but as the sound was borne to them from 
far out over the water every heart thrilled, 
and pulses beat many beats the faster. 

“ It ’s the ships! It ’s the fleet! ” cried a 
chorus. 

“ Oh, come quick! Let ’s go out! Never 
mind breakfast!” urged Polly, wildly. 

“ Polly kins, do you expect me to meet the 
excitement of the ensuing nine hours of day- 
light, to say nothing of considerable which 
is likely to fill the dark ones, on one grape- 
fruit? Nay, nay! That menu is entirely 
too tempting ! ” was Mrs. Stone’s merry veto 
to this proposal. 


'Welcome Home! 


251 


“ Not a bit of it,” echoed Mrs. Howland, 
while Constance and Gail added the most 
practical suggestion of all by saying: 

‘‘ Get busy and eatj every single one of 
you, and when you ’re all serenely full 
you ’ll be ready to stand the strain, for 
you ’d better believe there ’s going to be 
one.” 

‘‘ That gun is on the fort, honey,” ex- 
plained Mrs. Harold. “ You ’ll know when 
the ships arrive, let me tell you. That one 
poor little gun will be put out of com- 
mission.” 

It was hard to settle down to anything 
so mundane as breakfast when all the world 
was a-buzz with eager anticipation, and 
down at the dock one of the trimmest little 
steam-yachts was waiting to carry this party 
of seventeen out over the water toward Cape 
Henry. The yacht had been a complete 
surprise even to Mrs. Harold, for not until 
she reached the Chamberlain did she learn 
that the Frolic had been placed at her dis- 
posal by her husband’s friend. Senator . 

The telegram, letter, and yacht itself awaited 
her upon her arrival at Old Point. 

Within an hour all were on board, and 
the Frolic was poking her nose in and out 
among the hundreds of tugs and craft get- 


252 Captain Polly 

ting under weigh to steam after the 
Mayflower. 

All the world knows the story of the 
fleet’s return. How the gallant little May- 
flower made her way through the fog until, 
off Cape Henry, the Connecticut loomed up, 
mighty, majestic, imposing. The moment 
the President’s yacht hove in sight, the salute 
of twenty-one guns was fired, and as the 
other ships loomed up out of the fog and 
smoke each in turn boomed out its welcome 
to the nation’s ruler, while whistles and 
sirens upon tugs, yachts, and launches 
shrieked their welcome to the home-comers. 
Then, in honor of the nation’s founder, 
George Washington, a simultaneous salute 
of twenty-one guns was fired by the fleet. 

Never would the little party upon the 
Frolic forget that sight, for never again in 
all their lives would they be likely to see 
twenty-five superb battle-ships steaming in 
line up the mighty waterway with only four 
hundred feet between them, all dressed in 
cruising fashion, — a huge American flag at 
each masthead, the Union Jack a-flutter, and 
streaming flags in place at every lofty gaff; 
on the bridge, officers with drawn swords 
and in special full-dress uniforms, as the 
Connecticut steamed toward the Mayflower; 


Welcome Home! 


253 


sailors in blue manning the rails ‘‘ close 
aboard.” Shoulder to shoulder, they stood 
stiffly at attention along the sides of the 
six teen- thousand-ton ship, an almost un- 
broken human line from forecastle to 
quarter-deck. On the quarter-deck a ma- 
rine guard was drawn up, while bugles called 
to attention. At the heels of the Connecti- 
cut followed a seven-mile line of fighting 
vessels. 

As her great prow reached the bridge of 
the President’s yacht, the band played 
“ The Star-Spangled Banner,” and Presi- 
dent Roosevelt doffed his hat to salute the 
flag. 

That was a wonderfully impressive mo- 
ment, for, at the first thrilling note, each 
shrieking whistle and siren was hushed and 
every cheer silenced. Hardly an eye could 
see clearly, and into each throat sprang a 
strange lump which made speech impossible, 
for the great ships with their thousands 
foregathered from every State in the Union 
had come 


Home! 

The captain of the Frolic had made a 
good start, and kept his yacht well in the 
lead, thus giving his party a fine chance to 


254 


Captain Polly 

see the flagship. Mrs. Howland, with Mrs. 
Stone beside her, stood eagerly scanning the 
deck of the Connecticut, Mrs. Harold had 
many friends on board each ship. Con- 
stance held her aunt’s hand and peered off 
through the mist to discern the second di- 
vision of the first squadron, for the last, or 
eighth, ship of that division was the Rhode 
Island^ and none, not even the flagship, could 
mean to Constance quite what that ship 
meant, for it carried her — heart. 

Polly was in the group toward which Gail 
had naturally gravitated, for Gail was not 
too old to find her niche among the “ Origi- 
nals,” and, moreover, had always been a 
prime favorite with Ralph and Harry. 

Polly and Betty with arms locked stood 
lost to everything but the majesty of that 
wonderful naval review, and not until the 
Rhode Island came abreast of them could 
they join in the wild acclamations shouted 
by all around them. 

Long before any one else saw him, Con- 
stance had discovered Snap among the offi- 
cers, and into her eyes sprang the light 
which only one emotion on God’s dear earth 
can bring there, and upon her cheeks flooded 
the soft rich color which told of the hidden 
heart-throbs. 


'Welcome Home! 


255 


Polly was the next to see him, and Polly 
was not one to stand upon ceremony. With 
one glad cry, utterly oblivious of the space 
dividing them, she stretched forth her arms 
calling : 

“Brother Snap! Oh, brother Snap! 
Look at me ! Look at me ! ” and as though 
love had bridged distance, and mental tel- 
epathy proved as effectual as wireless tel- 
egraphy, Snap saw, if he did not hear her, 
and straight to two waiting, loving hearts 
shot his glance. And what did ceremony 
count then? Had the world ceased revolv- 
ing in consequence. Snap must have waved 
a greeting to the little yacht. 

A few hours later the great fleet had 
reached its anchorage. Bugle calls sounded, 
anchors plunged into the water as the mas- 
sive chains tore through the hawse-pipes. 
Then each ship broke out its rainbow dress- 
ing of lines of flags strung from stem to 
stern — their full dress in honor of the Presi- 
dent and Washington’s Birthday when 
resting in port. 

Back to Old Point, Hampton, or New- 
port News hurried the numberless yachts 
and launches to land their passengers, damp 
as to garments, but their ardor far from 
dampened. 


256 Captain Polly 

Then for two miserable days the patience 
of those on shore, as well as those on board, 
was taxed to the utmost by a heavy storm 
which prevented those on board from going 
ashore or people from visiting the ships. 
True, the big dinner given at the Chamber- 
lain by the members of the Navy League 
took place that evening, but this included 
only the highest officers and their families 
and only Mrs. Harold attended. 

But at length came clear weather and the 
dangerous, stormy harbor was considered 
safe for launches. Then early one morning, 
when the twelve “ Originals ” had rushed 
off down to the dock in the hope of some 
cheering news from the ships, their eyes 
were gladdened by the sight of one of the 
ship’s launches ploughing through the water 
straight toward the dock. When first 
sighted she was too far offshore for the 
eager group to distinguish the name on her 
bow, but presently Ralph, whose sight was 
unusual, snatched off his cap and with a 
veritable Indian whoop sent it flying into 
the air. 

“It’s the Rhode Island* s launch 1 It’s 
the Rhode Island* s launch! ” 

That ought to have been enough, but when 
those keen eyes made out a figure which at 








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Welcome Home! 


257 


that moment stepped up to the rail from 
the stern-sheets and laying hold of the life- 
line to steady himself looked eagerly toward 
the dock, the group seemed to take leave of 
its senses. The next second the figure on 
the rail had snatched off his cap with his 
free hand, and was waving it and shouting 
lustily. Snap was coming ashore with a 
liberty party. 

Sharp and short were the orders given 
as the launch swung alongside and Snap 
bounded up the gangway of the dock, but 
shrilly above the confusion of voices sounded 
Polly’s cry of: 

“Brother Snap! Dear, dear brother 
Snap ! ” 

“Little sister! Little Captain!” and 
Polly was gathered into an embrace which 
gave testimony of the love which prompted it. 

But it was Polly who remembered. As 
Snap greeted Ralph and was introduced to 
the others Polly whispered : 

“ Talk to them just a few minutes while 
I run back and tell Connie. She does n’t 
know, of course, and she won’t want to meet 
you with all the others around. Go right 
to Aunt Janet’s parlor; I’ll get Connie 
there somehow ; it ’s on the second floor, 
number 297.'’ 


C58 Captain Polly 

Polly never forgot the look of gratitude 
in Snap’s eyes as he answered: 

“ Little sister, I ’ll never forget this as 
long as I live, but — please be quick! I ’ve 
waited eight whole months for this day 1 ” 

Polly fled toward the hotel. How she 
managed it she never told, but Snap and 
Constance had an uninterrupted half hour 
in Mrs. Harold’s parlor. At the end of it 
Snap said: 

“ Sweetheart, send Carissima to me. She 
comes next to you, and then I want ‘ the 
little Mother,’ for she was my first friend 
up there at Annapolis.” 

As though to make amends for its surly 
mood, the weather cleared and grew mild 
enough for every one to be out-of-doors, 
and all that morning the launches from the 
ships, as well as hundreds of others, darted 
to and fro, like water-bugs, carrying people 
out to the ships or bringing officers and men 
ashore. A little later Lieutenant- Com- 
mander Harold came ashore and joined the 
party. Up to that moment Mrs. Harold 
had scarcely been able to exchange a word 
with him so closely had his duties on board 
held him. 

He and Snap divided the honors, and were 
the centre of interest, for there were a thou- 


Welcome Home! 359 

sand questions to be asked and answered. 
It was well for the party that Mrs. Harold 
had made her reservation at the Chamber- 
lain weeks before, or she would never have 
been able to offer the hospitality of a parlor 
to this party. All gathered in it, and, 
characteristically grouped, listened to Mr. 
Harold as he sat with Mrs. Harold’s hand 
fast clasped in his, and Mrs. Howland upon 
his other side, for Mrs. Howland had al- 
ways been like an older sister to him. On 
a settee just opposite him Snap sat between 
Constance and Polly, an arm encircling 
each, “ for, I can’t be ceremonious to-day,” 
said Snap. “It’s too wonderful a day; a 
regular red-letter one in my life.” 

“ You can’t tell me anything about it, 
son,” replied Mr. Harold, “ for I ’ve got 
something right here to jog my memory as 
to what it all means to you,” and he raised 
Mrs. Harold’s hand to press his lips to it. 

“ I ’ve two anchors, sir,” replied Snap, 
pressing his lips to Polly’s head nestling so 
lovingly against his shoulder. 

“Good thing! Don’t slip either! But 
now a word about all ihisf^ and he nodded 
toward Mrs. Stone, Gail, and the eleven 
“ Originals ” seated or squatted all about 
the room, for chairs had given out and the 


Captain Polly 


260 

boys had dropped upon the floor in the un- 
consciously picturesque poses only possible 
to boys. 

“ Yes, sir, I want to give them the time 
of their lives ! ” said Snap. “ Something 
they ’ll remember as long as they live ! 
Ralph, here, is my special protege, and I 
mean to see him a captain when I go on the 
retired list; Polly is one already. By-the- 
way, Polly, how’s the bugle? Did you 
bring it? ” 

“ Oh, no! Of course not! ” cried Polly. 

Then the story of the bugle was told Mr. 
Harold, who listened with the keenest in- 
terest, while Polly, greatly embarrassed, 
snuggled down upon Snap’s shoulder to 
hide her flaming cheeks. Then followed the 
story of the Club, of the offices held by 
Polly and others, each “ Original ” forget- 
ting to be shy in Mr. Harold’s presence 
as the enthusiasm for the Club grew, and 
it would indeed have been difficult for any 
boy or girl to hold aloof from Mr. Harold. 
He loved young people as his wife loved 
them, and instantly won them. 

And they never suspected how much they 
were telling him, though each in turn had 
something special to relate. The morning 
was nearly gone before any one realized it, 


"Welcome Home! 261 

and had not Snap suddenly wakened to the 
fact that he was due on board at one o’clock 
they might have talked on till dark. 

I ’ll go back with you, son,” said Mr. 
Harold, laying a kindly hand upon Snap’s 
broad shoulder. There was a moment’s 
silence, then he turned and taking Con- 
stance’s face in both his hands said: 

“ So you are going to take this big boy 
in charge, are you, little girl? Well, let 
me tell you he ’s worth it. When I have 
time, I ’ll tell you a few nice things about 
him that it would n’t be well for him to hear. 
You ’ve always been like a daughter to Aunt 
Janet and me, and now he will be like our 
son, God bless you both ! ” and a tender kiss 
rested upon Constance’s forehead. 

“Good-bye. Captain Polly! Captain! 
By Jove, I ’ve an idea! The most brilliant 
ever, but I can’t breathe a hint of it! Got 
to talk it over with some one who has always 
been as much to me as I mean to be to this 
big brother-to-be of yours, Polly. Come 
on. Hunter. Time ’s growing short. See 
you all at the dance to-night, and maybe 
I can give the orders for to-morrow then.” 

“ Oh, what, what is it. Uncle Glenn? ” 

“ Big secret ! Good-bye ! ” and Mr. 

Harold and Snap fled. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE GREATEST DAY OF ALL 

To Constance Howland the trip to Old 
Point meant a good deal more than such 
trips usually mean. She had spent the pre- 
vious winter at Annapolis with her aunt, 
Mrs. Harold, her mother’s only sister, and, 
as we already know, had returned to her 
home in Montgentian the fiancee of Harry 
Hunter. Mr. Harold, now a lieutenant- 
commander, had left Annapolis in the au- 
tumn of 1907 to join his ship, then at a 
Pacific station, but upon the arrival at San 
Francisco of the battle-ship fieet had been 
transferred to the Rhode Island, Hunter’s 
ship, to the great satisfaction of all con- 
cerned. He had now returned with his 
ship to Hampton Roads, and this fact 
meant a royal good time for the party which 
had hurried down to Old Point to welcome 
the fieet, and especially for the young 
people. 

Mrs. Harold had spent her winter at 

262 


THe Greatest Day of All 263 


Wilmot Hall and had sorely missed her 
companion of the previous year. Conse- 
quently, this reunion gave her more genuine 
delight than any one realized. She and 
Constance had already found time for more 
than one little chat together, and the morn- 
ing after Mr. Harold’s and Snap’s visit they 
were in Mrs. Harold’s parlor while the 
others were gathered upon the hotel piazza. 

“ Connie, girlie, let me get one good look 
at you. It seems ages since I ’ve had you 
alone for one single minute,” said her aunt, 
holding Constance at arm’s length. “ How 
do you suppose I ’ve managed to get on all 
this winter without you after having had 
you all last? Do you remember what we 
were doing a year ago?” 

“ Oh, you have had your boys. Aunt 
Janet, and from what I hear from some of 
them, you ’ve made ‘ Middies’ Haven ’ more 
attractive than ever and been mighty good 
to your big children! ” 

“ They are dear boys, every one of them, 
and mighty appreciative, although they 
don’t always get the credit for being. But 
none will ever take Snap’s place, honey! 
He is my own dear foster-son, and always 
will be. It seems almost too good to be- 
lieve that he is actually right out there be- 


264 Captain Polly 

yond our windows, and Glenn with him! 
Do you realize it, sweetheart? ” 

“ Do I realize it! Do I realize it! ” whis- 
pered the girl. “ Oh, Aunt Janet, you ’ll 
never guess how long these months have 
seemed! ” 

‘‘ Don’t you think I can guess ? Honey, 
I ’ve not forgotten what life was at twenty! 
But what is all this commotion? ” she cried, 
as the rapid approach of many pairs of feet 
indicated something unusual, and the next 
second a rataplan upon her door indicated 
that those without desired to be numbered 
among those within. 

“Come in! Spare the panel!” called 
Mrs. Harold, and in rushed the twelve 
“ Originals,” Polly crying: 

“ Oh, Aunt Janet! Aunt Janet, see what 
Uncle Glenn has done for us! Is n’t it too, 
too splendid to believe ! ” 

“ And we ’re aZZ, all included, Mrs. 
Harold! The whole twelve! Oh, I’m so 
glad we came that I won’t be able to sleep 
for a week!” cried Betty, rushing around the 
room like an escaped whirlwind. 

“Yes, and read this letter of invitation, 
Mrs. Harold. Written by the Admiral’s 
Secretary, on the ship’s paper and aU A-1 
right up to the mark. It will be preserved 


THe Greatest Day of AW C65 

in the archives of the P. V. S. Club, wher- 
ever they are — for — ever — and — ever! ” was 
Harry’s enthusiastic exclamation, for he had 
at once found his place with Mrs. Harold 
and fitted it exactly. 

“ Read that, please,” added Ralph, thrust- 
ing the momentous letter into Mrs. Harold’s 
hand. 


U. S. S. “ Connecticut,” 
Feby 24 , 1909 . 

Capt. Polly Howland, Captain 
OF THE P. V. S. Club, Hotel 
Chamberlain, Old Point 
Comfort, Va. 

Dear Madam: 

(Just here came an interruption in the 
form of an ecstatic screech from Polly, and 
“ Isn’t that perfectly splendid!”) 

Through my friend. Captain , I have 

had the pleasure of learning of the presence, 
at the Chamberlain, of the twelve members 
of the Pro Vexillo Scholaque Club of Mont- 
gentian, N. J., and have also been informed 
of the aim and object of the Club, which I 
most heartily approve and indorse, and in 
which I am keenly interested. 

Owing to this interest, I am very desirous 


266 


Captain Polly 


of meeting the members and shall feel highly 
honored if they, with their chaperones, will 
join me at a most informal tea on board on 
Thursday afternoon at four o’clock. 

I beg to remain. 

Very respectfully yours, 


‘‘What I What!” cried Mrs. Harold 
when she had finished reading the important 
missive. “A letter of invitation straight 
from the Admiral of the Fleet! Why, 
Polly Howland, have you any idea of the 
honor which has been thrust upon you? ” 
Solemnly Polly walked up to her aunt, 
and as solemnly dropped down in a little 
heap at her feet. Then resting both hands 
upon Mrs. Harold’s knees, and looking up 
into her face with a most awed expression, 
she answered: 

“Aunt Janet, I’m just naturally petri- 
fied, I’m so proud and scared! Isn’t it 
awful? Do you think we’d better go? 
I ’m afraid I never could get through it 
without flying all to pieces ! ” 

“Go! Why, Polly Howland, of course 
you will go ! The idea of questioning it for 
a single moment! Send your note of ac- 
ceptance without the least delay. Here, 


THe Greatest Day of A.11 267 

Betty, you, as Secretary of the Club, must 
write it. Here are paper, pen, and ink. 
What more is necessary? ” 

“ Brains, Mrs. Harold, and I have n’t an 
ounce!” wailed Betty. 

“ Nonsense! Get busy! ” 

“ Oh, how must I word it! ” hesitated poor 
Betty, overwhelmed by the responsibility. 

“ How would you accept an invitation to 
any tea? ” 

“But this isn’t any tea! It’s the very 
tea of our lives ! ” cried Betty. 

In due time the note of acceptance 
was composed, approved, and despatched, 
then for five mortal hours a fever of excite- 
ment consumed not only the “ Originals ” 
but the older members of the party as well. 
At three o’clock Snap came ashore in the 
Admiral’s own launch to escort the party 
on board, and if ever twelve hearts were 
a-flutter, the twelve which, led by Snap, 
clambered up the starboard after-gangway 
of the superb battle-ship Connecticut, cer- 
tainly were. Close behind them followed 
the chaperones. At the head of the gang- 
way stood the officer of the deck and Mr. 
Harold, who greeted them and led them 
toward a group of officers upon the after 
part of the palm- and flag-bedecked 


268 


Captain Polly 


quarter-deck. Instantly the magnificently 
uniformed Admiral, accompanied by the 
captains of the Connecticut and the Rhode 
I stand j stepped forward to welcome the 
visitors. Mr. Harold presented Polly first, 
then in their turns came Betty, Nancy, and 
the three other girls, followed by the six 
boys. Last the grown-ups came in for their 
honors, the young people stepping aside to 
make way for them. 

With the grace and charm so inseparable 
from him, the Admiral conversed for a few 
minutes with each of his older guests, con- 
triving at the same time to present to them 
the officers with whom- they would sit at the 
tea-tables then turned once more to Polly, 
who never knew how she managed to get 
through the next three minutes. She was 
only conscious of looking up into a pair of 
kind, smiling eyes, of placing her hand in 
one which gave it a hearty clasp and hearing 
a genial voice say: 

“Welcome aboard the Connecticut, fel- 
low-officer, Captain Polly Howland,” while 
the splendid band played “ Hail to the 
Chief! ” Whether the musical selection was 
in honor of the Admiral or herself never 
entered Polly’s head. 

Admiral and the Captain of the 


TKe Greatest Day of All 269 

Rhode Island had been warm friends when 
stationed at the Naval Academy many years 
before, and the captain’s eldest son bore the 
Admiral’s name. Knowing the Admiral’s 

interest in children, Captain had told 

him the story of the P. V. S. Club, as Mr. 
Harold had told it to him upon his return 

from his first visit ashore. Captain 

had asked many questions, and since Mr. 
Harold’s own knowledge was somewhat 
limited. Snap had been called upon to fill in 
the details of the story of the Club, and the 
story had lost nothing by his telling, for 
he had several of Polly’s letters to draw 
upon for information. 

When all his older guests had been cared 
for, the Admiral once more turned to Polly 
and, gallantly offering his hand, said: 

“ May I have the honor? ” By this time 
Polly was herself again, and the great Ad- 
miral was just a splendid elderly gentleman 
who was disposed to be chummy and charm- 
ing. So with a smile like sunshine itself 
Polly placed her hand in his and was led 
by him to one of the many little wicker 
tables, followed by Betty and Ralph, while 
the other members of the party paired off 
into little groups of four at each of the ten 
tables, for only the Admiral, his staff, and 


^ Captain Polly 


070 

these specially invited guests were allowed 
on the quarter-deck this afternoon. 

A prettier scene it would be hard to pic- 
ture than the palm-embowered quarter- 
deck, with its daintily-gowned feminine 
guests, its uniformed officers, and the back- 
ground of blue water, with twenty-five great 
battle-ships stretching out in a line more 
than two miles in length. 

Before Polly knew how it had happened, 
she was chatting away with the Admiral as 
though she had known him all her life, while 
Betty dropped telling words of their Club 
and how they had all worked to earn their 
money to organize it. 

“ And what is to be the next step taken? ” 
asked the Admiral, as he placed some dainty 
cakes upon Polly’s plate. 

“ Oh, something I want so much to do 
for them, because the Club members did all 
this for us. If they could only he here to 
see it all! If they only could! ” cried Polly, 
clasping her hands and raising her eyes to 
the Admiral’s face. Polly never guessed 
the little thrill of pleasure which that glance 
of hers sent straight to his heart. For 
many months he had been under a terrific 
strain, either from his responsibilities as 
Commander-in-chief of the fieet, or from 


THe Greatest Day of All 271 

ceremonious official entertainment or enter- 
taining, and none realized how severe the 
tax upon him had been. Here was some- 
thing truly novel and refreshing, for Polly 
had completely forgotten herself and was 
having a delightful time. 

“ Suppose you tell me all about it, then 
perhaps I can help to make it a reality. Do 
your friends know of this wish of yours?” 
he asked, turning to Betty. 

“Not a single thing! ” answered Betty. 

“ May we know it, Polly? ” asked Ralph. 

“Of course you may! The only reason 
I did not say anything about it was because 
it seemed almost impossible to carry it out, 
but now maybe it won’t be,” and Polly 
glanced confidingly at her new friend, 
who nodded encouragingly. Then she con- 
tinued : “ May I tell you all about it? I ’d 

love to, because you have been so dear to 
ask us all out here, and no matter how hard 
I tried to make the others up home under- 
stand how wonderful it all is, or how it looks 
to-day, I am sure I never could by just tell- 
ing; no, not if I talked straight ahead for 
one whole month. So I thought if I could 
get brother Snap, I mean Midshipman 
Hunter, — do you know him real well? ” 
and again the big gray eyes smiled up into 


Captain Polly 


fi72 

the Admiral’s, while Ralph and Betty looked 
on in secret admiration, and wondered how 
in the world Polly could chat so chummily 
with the man who had led the great fleet 
on its cruise of forty-five thousand miles. 
But Polly had forgotten that “ The Ad- 
miral ” was anything more than a most 
agreeable companion, and the delighted man 
was smiling back at Polly as he said: 

“ I know Mr. Hunter, but I am afraid 
not ‘ real well,’ for you see he is on the 
second division of the first squadron and 
rarely comes aboard the Connecticut^* 
“That is so; I forgot,” answered Polly, 
as though Admirals and Midshipmen might 
ordinarily chum together, even though cir- 
cumstances had made it impossible for Snap 
and this particular Admiral to do so. 
“ Well, of course, he really is n’t my brother 
yet, though he will be some day, and I love 
him dearly, dearly ! ” 

“ He is well worth it, and you have good 
reason to be proud of him too. He did a 
brave deed back there near Ceylon.” 

“Oh, what was it? Please tell us!” 
begged Polly. 

“ We should have lost one of our best 
gunners had it not been for him. We ran 
into rough weather and the man was washed 


TKe Greatest Day of A .11 373 

overboard. When the Rhode Island came 
along, Hunter saw him and went over after 
him. They were both picked up by one of 
the other ships. That required courage, 
little girl. And he is to be ‘ brother Snap,’ 
is he? Which one?” and the Admiral 
nodded toward Constance and Gail who 
were seated upon the farther side of the 
deck: 

“ Connie, my eldest sister; the one next 
to Lieutenant Winter. Is n’t she lovely? ” 

“ She certainly is. I admire Mr. Hun- 
ter’s choice. But we are forgetting all 
about this plan of yours. I am anxious to 
hear of it.” 

“ If I could only manage somehow to 
have a stereopticon and show the Club the 
pictures of the fleet. There must have been a 
lot of photographs taken on the cruise, and if 
I could only get some of them, and then have 
some one tell us the story of it, it would be 
the next best thing to having been there, 
or being here. We could charge admission 
for outsiders and in that way pay back to 
the Club a lot of the money they gave us 
to come down here. It was such a lot, too, 
and I felt so small to accept it and all the 
good times when the others could not have 
them tool Don’t you think it was just a 

x8 


274 Captain Polly- 

little — ^just a little — well, mean to take it? ” 

“Hardly that, although I can under- 
stand your view-point too. Suppose we see 
what we can do to correct it?” and the 
Admiral beckoned an orderly. 

“ My compliments to Mr. Belknap, and 
will he kindly bring his camera to the 
quarter-deck?” The orderly saluted and 
hurried away. 

Presently a young officer came toward 
the Admiral’s table and saluted. 

“Mr. Belknap, I would like to present 
you to Miss Polly Howland, Miss Betty 
Stark, and Mr. Ralph Wilbur,” said the 
Admiral. 

Mr. Belknap bowed in a manner which 
sent secret thrills through the girls’ hearts, 
and then shook hands with Ralph. 

“ Mr. Belknap,” continued the Ad- 
miral, “ these young people are anxious to 
carry back to their homes in Montgentian 
some little souvenirs of their visit to the flag- 
ship. You have, I know, taken a great 
many photographs of the fleet, and also of 
our ports of call. Will you kindly take 
one or two of the quarter-deck as it now 
appears with our charming guests? And 
will you oblige me by having slides made of 
them, and also of your series of photographs. 


THe Greatest Day of All 275 

and send them with my compliments to Miss 
Polly Howland, at Montgentian, New 
Jersey? ” 

It was well Mr. Belknap’s reply was brief 
and to the point, for Polly had come peril- 
ously near realizing her prediction to her 
Aunt Janet of “ flying all to pieces.” Only 
the stern necessity of keeping quiet long 
enough for Mr. Belknap to adjust his kodak 
and take his snaps saved the day. 

Then Mr. Belknap was presented to the 
other members of the party, leaving the 
Admiral at liberty to resume his talk with 
his table guests. 

‘‘And they tell me you expect to enter 
the Academy within the coming two years? ” 
he said to Ralph. 

“ I shall try to, sir. I want to, and I ’ll 
do my best,” answered Ralph, earnestly. 

“ Bone hard, keep steady, love the flag, 
and you ’ll win out! ” 

“ I can do the first, sir, and it won’t be 
hard to do the other two with Polly to 
keep me head on. She is going to pull up 
on me like anything in high-school work 
this year, and jump right into second term 
Sophomore work next year unless ” 

“Oh, Ralph! Hush!” protested Polly, 
blushing a rosy red. 


Captain Polly 


276 

“It’s true! Every single word of it!” 
broke in Betty. “ Polly can get ahead of 
every one of us and only half try.” 

“ Betty, will you be quiet! ” cried Polly. 

“And how about the flag?” asked the 
Admiral, laughing heartily at Polly’s em- 
barrassment and her friend’s staunch cham- 
pionship. 

“ Polly ’d never speak another word to 
us if we forgot that for a single minute! ” 
asserted Betty. 

“ How could we when she keeps it flying 
all the time? ” 

“ How is that? ” asked the Admiral. 

“ She has a staff in her grounds and 
raises and lowers the flag night and morn- 
ing just as they do at Annapolis, and 
sounds the calls on her bugle!” explained 
Ralph, his face alight with enthusiasm for 
his boon companion, though that same com- 
panion was ready to dive under the little 
table. 

“ This is all very interesting, very. Tell 
me more, please,” and the great man ab- 
sently pushed aside the tea things to rest 
his arms upon the table, eager as a boy to 
hear a thrilling tale. 

It was a funny, three-sided conversation 
which filled the ensuing fifteen minutes, 


THe Greatest Day of All ^77 

Ralph and Betty telling of their flag and 
Polly’s devotion to it, while Polly herself 
begged them to stop, and almost rose from 
the table in her embarrassment at having 
to listen to her own praises. 

“ Come here, little girl,” said the Admiral, 
drawing Polly into his circling arm. “ Do 
you know you and your friends have given 
me a more interesting hour than I ’ve had 
in many a long day? And shall I tell you 
why? Because you have unconsciously fur- 
nished the sequel to the big story the fleet 
has told the world: That it takes men^ the 
truest, noblest, and best God can create to 
be worthy of the flag up there and to sup- 
port it. Nor can men alone accomplish 
that, it needs women as well; women who 
love it, reverence it, will stand for and 
work for it, and, if necessary, sacrifice for 
it all that is dearest and most precious to 
them; women who will inspire, help, and 
elevate men to a man’s very highest ideals 
of what manhood should be, because women 
hold absolutely the power to do this. And 
when they begin at your age. Captain Polly, 
and Lieutenant Betty, they have helped lay 
the corner-stone of our nation. This is seri- 
ous talk for you young people, but if you 
can feel the love and reverence for your 


278 Captain Polly 

country’s flag that you have given such tell- 
ing evidence of feeling, you can understand 
all I ’ve said. You have given me a delight- 
ful hour. I shall not forget my visit from 
the twelve members of the P. V. S. Club, 
but I would like to ask one little favor of 
its captain. We both love the flag and the 
bugle calls. It is almost time for Colors 
now. It is customary to play the ‘ Star- 
Spangled Banner,’ as you know, but will 
you sound the call for me instead this even- 
ing, Captain Polly? It will be a pretty 
ending to our delightful afternoon, and a 
very sweet memory to me for many days 
to come.” 

The Admiral paused and laying his big, 
strong hand over Polly’s as it rested upon 
the tea-table, looked earnestly into her eyes. 

For a moment Polly drew back in 
hesitation. 

The very thought of sounding Colors on 
board the great battle-ship staggered her. 
But there was something in the kind eyes 
looking at her which struck straight to 
Polly’s warm heart. The eyes looked tired 
in spite of their kindly expression. The hesi- 
tation was only momentary, then Polly for- 
got everything but the pleasure this new 
friend had made possible for her and her 


THe Greatest Day of All 279 

friends, and was going to make possible for 
the other members of the Club back home 
in Montgentian. But for him, to-day would 
never have been in the annals of the Club. 

Impulsively offering both hands, she 
cried: 

“I’ll sound Colors for you. Admiral , 

if it takes every bit of wind I can pump 
into my lungs, and every speck of courage 
I can scare up, for if I blew until I was 
a hundred years old I could never, never 
begin to repay you for all you have done 
for us to-day! ” 

“ I thank you,” was the simple reply, 
“ and it is time. Come.” 

In a few words the orders were given 
and the others were told of what was about 
to take place. A bugle was brought to 
Polly, and warning call having already been 
sounded, escorted by the Admiral, Polly 
walked toward the flag-staff at the taffrail. 
For one little moment a secret dread lest she 
fail, — lest, unfamiliar with the bugle, she 
would be unable to soimd the ringing call 
sweet and true, as she did upon her own be- 
loved instrument at home. Then she glanced 
above her head and saw Old Glory waving 
as it had waved each day of all the fifteen 
months of that wonderful cruise, and into 


a8o Captain Poll^^ 

her soul flooded a love and reverence for it 
which banished all doubt, all fear, all self- 
consciousness, and whispering softly : 

“Oh, you are dear to me! I do love 
you! I dot'* she placed the bugle to her 
lips as the sailor loosened the halyards to 
lower away. 

Never had that bugle call been sounded 
more tenderly, more sympathetically, more 
truly, for all Polly’s soul went into the call, 
and into more than one pair of eyes sprang 
a moisture not to be controlled, and more 
than one throat swelled with emotion. Old 
and young would remember that scene for 
many a long day. 

And thus we, also, will remember Polly 
Howland until we greet her again in a new 
scene : Polly the lovable, Polly the en- 
thusiast, sounding Colors on the great flag- 
ship, and for the flag she loved so dearly! 




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